Nick vs The Fake Relationship
by HannahBerrie
Summary: "It was a complete accident that Nick started working for the Zootopian government. Falling for his handler was an even bigger accident." - In which Nick learns to be a spy, and falls in love. A Zootopian Spies (Chuck) Au.
1. Nick vs The Fake Relationship

**[A/N: Dedicated to amazing thoseotherthings, for freaking out over this Au with me. If you haven't seen the TV Show Chuck, watch it. All seasons are on Netflix and it's amazing. This drabble is heavily inspired by it, but you absolutely don't have to be familiar with the show to read the fic!]**

* * *

It was a complete accident that Nick started working for the Zootopian government.

Falling for his handler was an even bigger accident.

When he'd gotten tangled up in all of the government's secrets, the ZBI (Zootopian Bureau of Investigation) had sent the best of the best to train him, their top spy, the world-class, bad-ass, international master of espionage, Judy Hopps.

Who just happened to be under 3 feet tall (ears included).

And a bunny.

"Are you serious?" Nick had grinned upon first meeting Judy. The two were in an underground base located underneath Savanna Central, video conferencing with the chief and head of the organization, Bogo. The base was huge, and if not for the lack of windows, Nick never would have guessed that they were 100 or so feet under the surface of Savanna Central. Judy was standing beside him, wearing a white button-up tucked into a pair of black slacks. " _This_ is Judy Hopps?"

"She's our best agent," Bogo had threatened in a warning tone, to which Judy smirked smugly at Nick. "And she will be both training and monitoring you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's her job to keep you safe, and make sure you're fit enough to join the force."

"Well, yeah, that's all great," Nick said dryly, slipping his paws into his pockets, "But don't you think it'll look a little odd to have a bunny suddenly tailing me everywhere I go?"

"That's why we'll have a cover," Judy answered for Bogo. She waved a manila folder out to Nick, looking a little too eager. "I'm going to be your girlfriend."

If Nick had been drinking something, he would have done a spit-take. Instead, he just choked on his own breath and laughed incredulously. _"What?"_ He waited for the punchline, but it didn't come. Judy simply looked at him, violet gaze unblinking and unamused. "Okay," He said slowly, removing his paws from his pockets and crossing them across his chest. "But, I don't think that's going to work either, since I already have a girlfriend."

"Actually, according to our records, you haven't been on a date in…5 years?" Judy mused, flipping through the manila folder. "Gosh, you must really not get out a lot!"

He froze, gaping at her. "How did you—"

"It's my job to know everything about you, Wilde," Judy shrugged simply, snapping the folder shut and looking up at him. "If you're really that worried about our cover, it'll only be temporary, and it'll all be fake. And once I'm done training you, we'll never have to see each other again. So, do we have a deal?"

She held out her paw to him, and he eyed it carefully.

 _It's just temporary,_ he reminded himself. _And fake. Clearly fake._ Because the only situation in which he would ever date a bunny would be one in which she was secretly training him to become a government spy.

"Fine," he sighed, shaking her paw. "It's a deal."

Bogo cleared his throat, and the pair turned back to look at him on the screen.

"Remember, Hopps," The buffalo said sternly, leaning closer to the camera to look Judy right in the eye. "Training him is _your_ mission. If you strike out, it'll be _your_ ass on the line."

The bunny nodded and stood up straighter. "Understood, sir!" She chirped, saluting him. "I won't let you down!"

"Yeah, Chief," Nick nodded, giving his own half-hearted, and only slightly sarcastic salute. "I mean, how hard can it really be to just teach me a of couple spy moves?"

The chief snorted, and ended the conference call, leaving Nick to face Judy.

"Well, Nicholas—"

"Nick."

" _Nick._ We've got to get started! I've already taken the liberty of changing your Muzzlebook relationship status, and I've already moved into the apartment building across from yours. We train every morning of every day. If you compromise our cover to anyone, I'll be sent away, and they'll ship you off to headquarters, away from your friends and family. And believe me, you don't want that."

He blinked at her, just trying to process everything that she had said. "Uh…yeah. I don't."

"And no matter what, you have to remember one thing." She pulled down on his tie, yanking him down so he was exactly at her eye level.

Nick looked into her eyes, breath catching in his throat. "And what would that be?"

 _"_ _Trust me."_

* * *

As it would turn out, Nick was extremely out of shape, something Judy was more than keen to point out.

"Is this really all you got, Slick?" Judy panted, hopping in front of him with a smirk on her face.

They were training in their underground facility, suited with boxing gloves and helmets, and Judy had managed to knock him down exactly 5 times. For someone so small, she was damn fast.

"I wasn't ready that time," He griped, lying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. His view of the fluorescent lights was quickly blocked off by the sight of Judy peering over him. She hadn't even broken a sweat. "Crime doesn't wait for you!" She insisted, yanking him up with a strong tug on his arm. "Look at me, I'm an international drug lord."

He laughed. "What?!"

"Focus!" She ordered, hopping in place and holding out her fists. "I'm an international drug lord, your mission is to take me out. How are you going to stop me?"

He wrinkled his brow as he tried to remember. "A…swiping knee-kick, followed by a Guillotine choke."

She nodded in approval. "Do it."

He tried, he really did. He darted forward, raised his leg for the kick, but Judy was quicker. She blocked his kick and with one swift movement had him back on the ground, pinned underneath her.

"Nice," she panted, but all Nick could focus on was how close she was, and the feeling of her breath on his face. He found he suddenly felt dizzy. "But you still need some work. We'll work on it tomorrow, we gotta practice your knife skills next, you were really _bad_ last week…"

She peeled herself off of him, but Nick still lay there, wrists tingling where her paws had been. He chalked it up to being shocked over being pinned down by a rabbit half his size, because he couldn't afford to view it as anything else.

They were only a cover.

* * *

It was slightly unnerving, the feeling of being constantly watched. When Bogo had said Judy would be monitoring him 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, he hadn't been exaggerating. Nick apparently knew too much, and they couldn't risk letting anything malicious happen to him. So that explained why one evening, Nick glanced out his apartment window to see Judy watching him from across the street. Well, he assumed it was her. It was dark, but it was her apartment window, and last time he'd checked, there weren't any other bunnies with motivation to spy on him with binoculars.

The sight amused him more than it startled him, because she really did look funny, a dark silhouette with tall ears and giant lenses pressed to her eyes. Nick knew this kind of thing was going on, just last week he'd learned that they'd bugged his apartment, thanks to Judy casually pointing out that he had a nice singing voice.

"You were listening to me in the _shower!?"_ He'd yelped, which only made her smile more.

"24 hours a day," she'd teased in a playful tone, and Nick had groaned and buried his face in his paw.

Needless to say, he wasn't getting a lot of privacy lately. Though binoculars — was that _really_ necessary? Maybe he oughta give good 'ol Carrots a little call. He dug in his pocket for his phone, dialing her number in what was becoming a practiced motion. He really needed to put her on speed dial already.

He looked back out the window as she picked up her cell phone, answering it with what looked to be a loud sigh. "Yes, Nick?"

"Hey, I thought you were supposed to be good at this spy stuff," he quipped, smiling at her through the window. "I could see you from a mile away, Carrots."

"It's only you, Nick," Judy reminded him, "I don't exactly have to worry about my location being compromised."

"I'm just watching TV," Nick sighed, "Do you really have to monitor me _all_ the time?"

"Anything could happen to you," She said gently, "I have to make sure you're safe."

"Well, that must be boring."

"It's my job."

"What do you do when you're _not_ doing your job?"

"That's classified."

"Oh." He was silent as he looked at her through the window, unsure of what to say next. He decided to lighten the mood. "Well, I could strip," he teased, and he could practically hear her blush. "Ya' know, give you a little show."

"As… _interesting_ as that would be," Judy snorted, "I've already seen all you have to offer, Wilde."

"Wait…what?"

"The bugs have a visual feed."

Nick felt his face heat up, and he groaned loudly. "Of COURSE they do! Why wouldn't they? You guys just have to invade every last inch of my privacy, don't you?"

She gave the hint of a laugh. "That's right."

He eyed her through the window. "So, what's with the binoculars?"

He saw her shrug. "I got nothing better to do. Sometimes it's fun to do things the old-fashioned way."

He hesitated before he spoke next. "You could uh…come over, if you wanted. You know, monitor me up close and personal."

Judy didn't speak for a moment, and albeit for the crackle of the phone silence, his apartment was dead quiet as he waited for her reply. "I don't think that's such a good idea," she finally said. "We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow — you still need to practice handling guns _and_ bomb diffusing. Get some rest."

Nick ignored the sinking feeling in his chest and nodded. "Yeah, you're right, sorry."

"Goodnight, Nick."

"'Night."

She hung up, and Nick felt that sinking feeling even stronger, becoming harder to ignore.

He was going to have to start learning to, though. He was a _spy_ now, and as Bogo kept reminding him on a weekly basis: emotions would get you killed in this kind of business.

So he took a breath, sucked it up, and decided tomorrow he would stop stressing over Judy Hopps.

That didn't stop him from having a little fun with her though. He unbuttoned his work shirt and pulled it off, tossing it aside with a wink.

Judy's silhouette seemed to shake, as if she was laughing, and she raised her paw to give him a thumbs up.

Nick smiled back, and turned to head off to his bedroom, all the while reminding himself:

 _It's only temporary._

* * *

She came to visit him at work, well, his old work. Cover work. Or was it technically his real work? Either way, Judy Hopps showed up to the dingy electronics store he'd spent the majority of his time at before the world decided he was going to become a spy. She was holding two coffee cups, one for herself and one for him, made exactly to order because she knew just how he liked it — just like she knew _everything._ She'd ditched the guns, determined glare, and black suit, instead donning a floaty lilac sundress and an innocent smile that made her look like any other goody-two-shoed, carrot-loving bunny.

20 bucks said that she still had the belt of pocket knives still strapped around her upper thigh though.

"Damn," Finnick had snorted, seated at the customer service counter beside Nick. "How'd you lock that down?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Nick snorted, because he really wouldn't have. He left Finnick to deal with the honey badger who was angrily going on about how her iPawd wouldn't turn on even though she'd bought it from here just _yesterday_ , and went to meet Judy in the middle of the store.

Judy bounced to a stop, and Nick hated himself for thinking that she actually looked _cute._ "Hey, sweetheart!" She smiled, handing him the coffee cup. "I missed you this morning!"

Except that was a lie, because they'd spent the morning practicing French, because he had to learn different languages now if he was going to be a spy (as if he didn't have enough to deal with already).

But they were only cover-dating, so as far as Nick was concerned, they'd spent the morning apart after a long-night of cuddling on his couch, watching TV and feeding each other popcorn, just like a _real_ couple.

"I missed you too!" Nick smiled back, and Judy gave the faintest hint of a nod.

She glanced around the store briefly before standing on tip-toe as much as she could, pressing her nose as close as she could to his. _"Kiss me,"_ she whispered into his ear, never once faltering in her cheery, carrot-loving bunny smile.

His eyes widened, and he glanced down at her. _"What?!"_

 _"_ _We're dating, aren't we?"_ She hissed through her teeth. _"Your co-workers will never believe it unless we sell it."_

Nick glanced up to see Finnick indeed eyeing him, though half of that was resentment over Nick leaving him to deal with the angry customer.

 _Fake fake fake fake fake. It's all fake._

So, forcing a similar, cheery, bunny-loving smile onto his face, he lowered his head to give her a light peck.

 _There._

Judy seemed to have other ideas though, as she wrapped one paw around his neck and hoisted herself into the air, legs wrapping around his waist — and _yep,_ she was definitely wearing the knife belt around her thigh. She kept her free paw on her coffee cup as she leaned in to whisper in his ear, "You're needed at headquarters, _now."_

Nick froze, still taken aback by her wrapped around him, all while trying desperately to hold her up with one paw and not spill his coffee with the other. Not to mention that he could feel her rapid little heartbeat hammering against his chest, and smell the scent of her honeysuckle perfume filling his nose.

To anyone else, it looked like an eager girlfriend trying to sneak her boyfriend out of work, and that's what Nick kept reminding himself, it was only for appearances, it was all _fake._

So why did he _really_ wanna try that fake-kissing thing again?

He swallowed. "Like…now, _now?"_

She gave him a look.

"Now it is," he agreed, and Judy leaped off of him and took ahold of his paw tightly.

Nick walked them both to the customer service desk, where he gave Finnick a hastened excuse for having to duck out for a bit.

"Whatever," Finnick said as the honey badger walked out in a huff. "You gotta do what you gotta do man."

"See you later, Finnick!" Judy chirped, waving goodbye and tugging her cover-boyfriend out the front door.

The fennec fox simply shook his head, watching as the two left to do completely normal, _real_ couple things. "Bunnies," he snorted.

* * *

As it would turn out, those completely normal, real couple things would be his first field mission.

"We think you can handle it," Bogo said over another video conference.

"But I've only been training for a month!" Nick protested. "How could I be ready?!"

The chief raised an eyebrow. "Agent Hopps told me that she thinks you're ready."

Nick felt his heart skip a beat, and he turned to his left to look at Judy, but she stared determinedly at the screen, not flinching even once.

"So," Bogo continued, "We're going to start you off with something simple. We've intercepted some transmissions from a smuggling ring, we think they're planning an exchange in Sahara Square today. I need you to go to the drop off location, intercept the package, and detain the smugglers."

"And what exactly are they smuggling?" Nick asked.

"Enough Night Howlers to make the entire city go nuts," Bogo answered, and Judy visibly cringed. "I'm sure you're familiar with the effects?"

Nick nodded. His poison identification lessons with Judy were paying off already.

"Great. Now go. The drop off is at 3, I sent the coordinates to your phones." And without so much as a goodbye, he ended the call.

"Let's suit up!" Judy chirped, turning to head down the hall to the armory. "I need to get out of this dress…"

"Why did you tell Chief I was ready?!" Nick exclaimed, stepping in front of his bunny partner.

Judy put her paws on her hips and looked up at him. "Because I think you are," she said simply. "You have a lot of potential Nick, and you're never going to discover it if you stay here underground. You've gotta try!"

Nick hesitated, and she reached out her paw to hold his gently. "I won't let anyone hurt you. You do trust me, don't you?"

He glanced down at their intertwined paws, sighed and nodded. "I do."

 _"_ _Then let's do this."_

* * *

The drop-off location turned out to be a swanky hotel, which was thankfully air-conditioned — Nick had never been fond of the Sahara Square heat.

"Alright, Nick," Judy whispered as they entered the hotel, arm-in-arm. "Keep an eye out for any suspicious-looking mammals. Be prepared to strike at any moment."

"Got it, Fluff," Nick nodded with a smirk, "And may I just say, you make a cute tourist."

They were both dressed to blend in with the other Sahara Square tourists, Nick donning a Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts, Judy a floral romper and large sunhat. Both had on sunglasses, and a small arsenal of knives and guns tucked away in the most unexpected of places.

"Don't call me cute," Judy said in a warning tone, but she was smiling because eyes were on them and it was _showtime._

"Sorry, _sweetheart_ ," Nick teased, "Just following the cover."

" _Nick,_ " She gave him a pointed look. "We're not a cover."

Nick's brow furrowed in confusion before it dawned on him. He glanced around, nodding. "Right. We're a thing. A completely real relationship."

She nodded. "Exactly."

Nick took his phone out of his pocket and held it out to her. "Well, _darling,_ you think I could get a photo?"

She eyed him. "What?"

"What kind of real couple doesn't have any photos together?" He asked, "We're supposed to sell it."

"Right now?!" She exclaimed, looking around the hotel lobby. "On a…" She lowered her voice and leaned in closer, " _Mission?"_

"We still got at least 25 minutes before they're supposed to show up. It'll only take a second, Carrots."

She looked hesitant, shifting her weight from one foot to another, but eventually sighed. "I guess you're right," she said, removing her sunglasses. "Just keep it quick."

He had to kneel down so she was in the frame, and even then she had to stand on tip-toe. She took his sunglasses off and tucked them into his shirt for him, and just that small action was so cute and _domestic_ , he lost himself for a moment. They both leaned in closer and smiled into the camera, and Nick took the photo.

"Cheese and crackers!" Judy smiled, looking down at it on his phone. "We look…"

 _Like a real couple._

But her voice trailed off, and she coughed, straightening up. "Let's get into position," she said, slipping her sunglasses back on.

Nick nodded and tucked his phone away. "On your orders, Fluff."

* * *

The drop-off wound up happening 5 minutes later than they'd expected. It had been Nick who'd spotted the suspect first.

"Shady-looking leopard with a duffle bag at 5 o'clock," he hissed to Judy.

She nodded. "Good work, Nick," she whispered, and they got up from their seats to go apprehend the criminal. "Let's get our guy."

If only it'd been that easy.

The leopard had taken off the minute Judy had approached him with her badge, leading them on a wild chase through the hotel. It was a busy Friday afternoon, and the hotel was crowded with mammals Nick had to slither between and maneuver through. Judy used her bunny instincts to her advantage though, leaping gracefully and skillfully through the crowd.

Nick was impressed, to put it lightly.

The leopard whipped a pistol out of his pocket and fired off a couple of rounds at them as they pursued him up an emergency staircase, but one-by-one, they all missed. Judy was shouting orders at him to cease and desist immediately, but the leopard only shouted back some colorful and offensive language in reply.

Nick was counting the floors as they ran higher and higher up the staircase. There was only so high they could go until—

The leopard kicked open the door leading to the hotel roof, a flat expanse coated with gravel. There were no other buildings in the vicinity, no other way out other than straight down, 30 floors to be exact.

 _"_ _Stop right there!"_ Judy ordered as the leopard glanced around the rooftop frantically. "ZBI!"

The leopard held up his gun and Judy darted forward to leap up and kick it out of his paws. The gun, as well as the bag, fell to the ground, and the leopard and Judy immediately began fighting for it.

Nick leapt forward and grabbed the bag of Night Howlers, but was kicked back by the leopard. Nick held on tightly to the duffle as he was flung backwards, the metallic taste of his own blood filling his mouth.

 _"_ _NICK!"_

The fox shook himself off and stood up, one paw on the bag, the other on the gun he whipped out of his pocket. The leopard had long since crossed the line, and now, Nick was ready for a _fight._

He wasn't ready for what he saw next.

The leopard had his large arm wrapped around Judy's tiny neck, and was squeezing, causing her to gasp for air. He had his gun pressed to her temple, and was _smiling,_ actually _smiling,_ at Nick. "Give me my bag," he demanded. "Now!"

"Don't do it, Nick!" Judy insisted, squirming in the leopard's grasp.

Nick looked between them helplessly, aiming his gun with a shaky grip.

"Give me the bag, fox!" The leopard ordered again, "Or it's lights out for your dumb bunny friend here!"

Nick could see Judy's teeth clench, and he knew every muscle in her body had to be fighting off protesting that she wasn't some _dumb bunny_. She kept her composure though, instead looking Nick right in the eye. "Take the shot, Nick!" She hissed, whimpering slightly when the leopard squeezed her even tighter.

Nick's heart was hammering wildly, and he hesitated. _If he accidentally hit Judy…_

 _"_ _NICK!"_ Judy yelped again, and Nick turned to look her directly in the eye.

She narrowed her eyes, nodded.

 _Trust me._

So he took the shot. It hit the leopard right in the knee, causing him to stumble backwards, which gave Judy a window to squirm free from his grasp and bunny-kick him right in the chin. It was enough to make the already stumbling mammal fall backwards, where she finished off her takedown with a punch to the face, knocking the leopard unconscious.

Her romper was ripped across the stomach, her sunhat long gone, and she had blood on her fists, and what looked like a couple bruises, but she still turned to look at him, panting slightly. "Y-you okay?"

Nick just looked at her before he burst out laughing, not meaning to sound slightly hysterical. "Am _I_ ok? You just…you…you could have died! I…shot…I shot someone…"

Judy smiled gently at him and let out a heavy sigh. "You did great, Nick." She peeled herself away from the passed out leopard and pulled out her pager. "This is Agent Hopps," she said briskly, speaking into the small device. "Requesting backup and transport. I'm sending my coordinates now."

"Is every mission like this?" Nick asked as she ended the call. "You know, guns, near death experiences, immediate peril?"

She smirked. "Only the fun ones."

* * *

Judy walked Nick home that night, holding his paw, as she always did. They'd gotten cleaned up at headquarters, where Bogo congratulated them on a job well done, but not without reminding them that there was still another suspect out there: the mammal intent on buying those Night Howlers. Which meant there was going to be more missions, and a hell of a lot more training. At first, Nick had been hesitant, after all, his idea of a good day usually involved _not_ almost getting shot up by a crazed leopard. But now, as he looked down at the bunny at his side, he decided that maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be so bad.

It was late at night, and even though the streets were bustling with nightlife, Nick couldn't stop chewing something over in his mind. He was slowly becoming more and more aware of the fact that the one person he spent virtually all his time with, he knew absolutely nothing about. All he knew was that she was Judy Hopps, master spy. He didn't know her birthday, her likes and dislikes, or where she grew up. How had she become a spy? Had she ever killed anyone? Had she ever been in love?

He turned to look down at her again, and his heart did the annoying skipping-thing he was starting to get accustomed to.

 _It couldn't hurt to ask, right?_

"Hey, uh, Fluff?"

She looked up at him sweetly. "Yes, Nick?"

"Is it alright if I ask you something…personal?"

Her smile wavered, and she looked uncertain. "You know that kind of stuff is classified," she reminded him. "The less you know about me, the better."

"I know, I know," Nick insisted. He told himself that he was being stupid, but it was too late — the frustration was already bubbling up and his aching curiosity got the better of him. He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, putting both paws on her shoulders and looking her right in the eye. "It's just that…you know everything about me, and I feel like I don't even know who you are! Like, what's your favorite color? Or hobby — what do you do when you're not saving the world? Or your middle name? Just something, _anything."_

Judy was silent as she looked up at him, her gaze cold and concrete.

Nick waited, hoping, eyes _pleading,_ but Judy didn't so much as flinch. Seconds dragged by, cars rushed past, and as time went by without receiving an answer, Nick gave up.

"Fine," he sighed, pulling away from her. "I'm sorry." He turned to walk away, shoulders slumped. "I shouldn't have asked."

 _Fake fake fake fake fake. It's all fake and you're an idiot and you're emotions are going to get you killed._

"Laverne."

It was no more than a quiet whisper, but Nick still caught it anyway. His ears perked up, and he turned back around to face her, looking at her curiously. "…What?"

She didn't look at him, but repeated herself. "Laverne. My middle name is Laverne."

 _Laverne._ In any other situation, Nick would have laughed, because God, what kind of middle name was _Laverne,_ but Nick was so distracted by the fact that it was finally something _real_ to their fake relationship, he couldn't say anything at all.

"This is your apartment," Judy said, and Nick looked up and realized that they'd been stopped in front of it the entire time. "Get some rest."

Before he could even say goodbye, she crossed the street to her own apartment, leaving Nick to stare after her.

Looking back, he didn't mean to — not at all. After all, she was a spy, and a _bunny,_ and he knew for a fact that she would never see him as anything more than a mission, something to accomplish, check off, and move on from. But it was too late — he was falling for Judy Hopps, the world-class, bad-ass, international master of espionage — his _handler._

So he took a breath, sucked it up. After all, he _had_ to stop freaking out.

It was just a cover.


	2. Nick vs The Truth

"My mother wants to meet you," Nick panted, his face just barely missing the blunt end of Judy's kick. He maneuvered his way out of it skillfully as he ducked his head and put a couple feet between them.

"Your mother?!" Judy frowned, hopping in place as she circled Nick. "Why?"

Nick looked the bunny over, pleased to note that she had broken a sweat. They were in their training gym, as they were most times. The sound of each blocked punch and kick echoed off the slate tile floor, making each second Nick stood on his feet even more satisfying. He was getting better at hand-to-hand combat — Judy had only managed to knock him down once so far. All he had to do was stay focused, that's what Judy kept telling him, but it was admittedly hard when she was wearing a tank top and curve-fitting yoga pants.

"Well, like your little folder said," Nick explained, attempting a sweeping leg kick, "I haven't had a significant relationship in 5 years. She's excited."

Judy's already flushed face turned redder. "I guess that makes sense," she nodded, blocking Nick's kick. "So, does she want to go out for coffee, or something?"

"Dinner, actually. At her place — she lives out in Tundra Town. And let me tell you, she makes one hell of a blueberry cobbler."

Judy Hopps, for the first time since Nick had met her, looked nervous. "For the cover, right?" She asked, glancing up at him as she wiped off her brow with her boxing mitt.

"Of course, sweetheart," Nick said, unable to stop the slight resentment in his tone. "A real cover dinner with my real mom and cover girlfriend. Couldn't get any more simpler than that."

Judy laughed under her breath as she tried again to land a blow to Nick. He blocked it. "I know it's hard," she said, pausing to gasp for breath, "But it's all a part of the job, you know that. We're _spies_. Lying is an occupational hazard."

 _Right._

"And isn't that the truth?" he quipped, before darting forward. He swept his leg out underneath her just as she was hopping up to kick him, tripping her from underneath and sending her falling right on her back. She landed on the floor with a scowl and a cute little gasp sort of sound.

Nick would have labeled it as his first successful attempt at finally mastering combat—

—If he hadn't tripped on Judy's legs and toppled right on top of her afterwards.

Judy lay underneath him, blinking up at him in surprise. Her chest was heaving, her were ears splayed flat against the floor, and her little nose twitched up at him rapidly.

Nick hovered above her, careful to not crush her with his weight. Despite his fumbled fall, he was still pretty proud of himself. "P-pinned ya," He panted, looking down at her with an impish smirk on his face. "I'm getting almost as good as you, Fluff."

A beat passed, and Judy's wide-eyed look of shock faded into a similar, impressed smirk. He had bested her, but she could never let him win, not completely. With a hook of her leg and a swing of momentum, she easily flipped them over so that she was on top again, as she always was. "Nice try, Slick," she said, smiling down slyly at him. "But let's have you single-handedly take down 20 armed drug cartel members, and then we'll talk."

He gaped at her. "20?"

She shrugged modestly. "Give or take a few."

"Have I ever told you how much you terrify me, Carrots?"

The bunny smiled as she punched his shoulder playfully and peeled herself off of him. "Not today."

* * *

The day of the dinner came, and Judy was still fighting off anxiousness, as much as Nick knew she was trying to hide it.

She was visiting him at work, wearing a pink plaid shirt she had tucked into some white shorts. They were in the CD section of the store, tucked away from most of the customers. Nick was tugging around a cart filled with 50% off stickers and clearance signs, a cart which Judy was seated carefully on.

"So, your mother…she's nice, right?" Judy asked as Nick pulled them to a stop in the "Top 40 hits" section. She was avoiding eye contact with him, and her paws were fiddling with a stack of 'buy 2, get one free' stickers.

"No," Nick deadpanned. "She's secretly a cannibal and fights children in her spare time."

Judy blinked at him, alarmed.

The fox burst out laughing, earning himself a gasp and a punch from Judy (which hurt, a lot). "Yes, she's nice!" He chuckled, using his pricing gun to attach $20 stickers to the new shipment of Gazelle CDs. "And she's going to love you."

Judy's face was hard to read as she sat on the cart, feet dangling and brow furrowed in thought. "I don't know if I can do this," she finally admitted.

Nick gave another bark of laughter, and Judy's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Wait a minute," the fox said, setting down the pricing gun and putting his paws on his hips. "You mean to tell me that Judy _Laverne_ I-can-take-down-20-drug-cartel-leaders Hopps, is scared of a dinner with a sweet old fox?"

Judy glared at him. "I'm not scared! I just…I don't want our relationship to be compromised. If we slip up—"

"Which we won't," Nick assured her. He glanced around the store before leaning in close to her, so their noses were only inches apart. "Listen, Carrots. You told me to trust you, now I'm asking you to trust me. We've got our cover — sorry, _relationship_ , down."

Judy finally held eye contact with him as she smiled gently. "You're right," she sighed. "I mean, I've handled interrogative torture, I think I can handle a dinner."

"See, there you go again, terrifying me!" Nick exclaimed, giving her a gentle nudge.

Judy smirked coyly at him, turning her attention back to the price stickers beside her. "Thank you, Nick," she mumbled.

He eyed her, confused. "For what?"

"For…" She turned to look up to the ceiling, as if the words she was looking for were somehow waiting for her above. "Listening."

He shrugged. "Anytime, Fluff." His unusually gentle tone made Judy smile at him, and Nick had to look away because God only knew how hard it was to tell himself he wasn't really in love with her when she did that.

He had to lighten the mood, fight back against the tension threatening to bubble up.

"You know, if you were my real girlfriend, I'd probably give you a kiss right now," Nick teased, allowing himself to steal a glance at her. "As unpleasant as I know that would be for you."

Judy gave a light laugh, the bubbly kind that reminded Nick of popping champagne and twinkling summer nights (God, he was turning into a sap). "I'm sure I could find some way to bear it," she teased back.

"Sooooo, you wanna kiss me?" Nick smirked, placing his paw over his heart. "Carrots, I'm flattered, really."

Judy started to stammer, and she looked away from him with a flighty gaze. "N-no! That is _not_ what I said!"

Despite his teasing, Nick was surprised to see her blushing and fumbling over her words like this. Had he actually managed to fluster her? He gave a conspiratorial gasp and leaned in close to her. "Could it be?" He whispered, "The great and mighty Judy Hopps is going soft?"

She snorted, and quickly collected herself. "In your dreams, Wilde," Judy retorted, grabbing the pricing gun from his paw and sticking a $20 label onto his forehead.

Nick pouted at her in faux-offense. "Twenty dollars? Is that all I'm really worth to you, Fluff?"

Judy grinned, took another label off the cart, and slapped a 50% off sticker onto his cheek. "There! Now you're only $10!"

Nick put his paw over his heart again and pretended to be greatly wounded. "You're killing me here, Carrots, truly."

Judy just shook her head as she laughed at him, a blushing fox covered in price stickers, and Nick swallowed back the urge to drag her into his arms and kiss her, right in the middle of the store.

Hand-to-hand combat felt easier.

* * *

She arrived at his place at exactly 5:00, wearing a pastel blue dress and matching cardigan. She looked good, as she always did.

"Let's go over our plan of operations," Judy said, pulling out a small tablet and scrolling through it. "She's expecting us there at 6:00, so we'll leave here in no later than ten minutes. We'll enter her residence from the east entrance and—"

"Hey, Fluff?"

She paused. "Yes?"

Nick walked over to her, wearing his best dinner jacket and an undone tie. He put his paw over her tablet, and tilted her chin up with another. "It's my mom, ok? Not a terrorist or some other bad guy. It's okay to relax!"

Judy blinked up at him before smiling sheepishly. "You're right," she sighed, putting the tablet away, "I'm overthinking this."

"Ya' think?" Nick smirked and got to fumbling with his tie.

Judy gave him a small smile and stood on tiptoe to do his tie for him. "I'm sorry if I'm a little weird about this," she blushed, "I've never had to do something like this before."

Nick wasn't quite sure what she meant by 'something like this.' Meeting someone's parents? Pretending to be in a fake relationship? Fixing his tie? But he bit his lip, and didn't pry. "You'll be fine," he assured her.

Judy finished his tie and pulled away with a gentle smile. "Thank you, Nick."

Nick smiled back, and for a moment their gazes were locked and Nick could have sworn that he felt something pass between them.

But then that moment passed, Judy looked away, and Nick turned his focus to putting his coat on. "Alright, Fluff, let's head out."

She nodded briskly. "Sounds good."

He turned to head to the door, then paused. "One more thing," Nick added quickly, turning back to point his paw at her, "no guns."

She gaped at him innocently. "What?"

He didn't buy it. It was her job to lie, after all. "You're not bringing that into my mother's home, so you gotta leave it here, Fluff. C'mon, I know you got one."

Judy sighed and eyed him wryly before yanking her skirt up and removing the small pistol strapped to her thigh. She tossed it to him, and he caught it just barely — he was still distracted by the flash of the downy gray fur of her upper leg.

"There's my gun," she said briskly, "happy now?"

Nick clicked his tongue and held out his paw. "One more."

She gaped at him again, this time out of shock, but still rolled her eyes and pulled the second pistol out of her purse. "You're getting too good for your own good, Wilde," she muttered teasingly, this time handing the gun to Nick.

"Well, I was trained by the best," he smiled with a wink, and for a brief moment, he could have sworn he saw Judy blush.

* * *

Mrs. Wilde wasn't that old of a vixen — she'd had Nick when she was young and raised him on her own. The two were close, and as much as Finnick would mock him for saying it, Nick viewed his mother as one of his closest friends.

Which made lying to her excruciating.

"So, tell me, how did you two meet again?" Mrs. Wilde beamed, taking a sip of her blueberry tea.

Nick coughed into his tea cup, and held the handle a little more tightly. His mother was sitting on the love seat across from Nick and Judy, while they sat side-by-side on the couch. Judy had finished her tea, and was resting her head on his arm.

 _It felt nice,_ Nick thought vaguely, still distracted by his inner cloud of all-consuming guilt.

"At work," Judy answered, throwing Nick an affectionate smile, "I came into his electronic store with a little phone trouble and Nick was the one to help me out."

It sounded so believable when their fake love story was laid out like that. If only things were that simple.

"Who knew that job would be good for something?" his mother said with a light laugh, "I keep telling Nick, he's so smart and clever, he can do so much better than just some 'ol retail job."

Judy nodded. "I completely agree. I think Nick has amazing potential."

Nick felt his ears grow warm, and he turned to look at Judy. He'd picked up on the slight change in her tone, a change that held slightly more gravity and truth to it. "Really?"

Judy looked him in the eye and nodded, while his mother tittered.

"Don't sound so surprised, Nicholas!" Mrs. Wilde said, reaching across the coffee table to refill Judy's tea cup. "It's true!"

Nick shrugged sheepishly, and Judy laughed softly, their gazes still locked.

"Do you two need any more blueberry cobbler?" His mother offered, smiling between the two of them.

"You've stuffed us full, Mom," Nick insisted, running a paw over his stomach.

"You better be stuffed!" Judy teased. "I think three servings of cobbler is more than enough for you, sweetheart."

Nick smiled apologetically at her. Not that he had too much to be sorry for — he was sure Judy would help him work it all off in the kickboxing session they had scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Judy didn't smile back, but instead eyed him curiously, her tongue peeking out the side of her lip ever so slightly. Then she scanned his face, licked her thumb, and wiped some excess blueberry filling off his muzzle.

Nick felt his face grow warm at the affectionate gesture, even though it was probably just a part of the cover.

Probably.

Nick turned away and took another sip of his blueberry tea, just as his mother fell back into conversation.

"So," Mrs. Wilde continued, "You two have been together for what, six months now? That's quite a long time for you, Nicholas. Do you two see a future, together? Marriage? Children?"

Nick fell into a coughing fit again, and it was then that he decided he better lay off the tea before he choked himself to death. "We, uh…Judy and I, we're…"

" —Taking things slow," Judy quickly finished for him, but not without throwing him a brief warning look first.

"Right," Nick nodded eagerly, teeth bared in a wide grin. "Slow and steady."

His mother looked skeptical. "Alright, but remember Nicholas, you're thirty-two years old — you're not getting any younger, and I would like to see some grandkits in my lifetime…"

Nick felt his ears droop as he glanced downward. As melodramatic as his mother was being (she had just turned 50, and the way she was talking made her sound as if she was on the brink of retirement), she did have a point.

It was at this moment that Nick had a sinking realization. The truth was that Nick and Judy didn't have a future. They would never get married, and they definitely wouldn't have any children, if such a thing was even possible between a bunny and a fox. So why was he doing this to himself? Because as much as Nick had tried to convince himself he didn't like Judy, it was becoming increasingly harder to lie to himself.

Something needed to change.

Thankfully, the rest of the evening went by smoothly, and before Nick knew it, it was nearly 11 o'clock.

"Goodness!" His mother exclaimed, looking at the clock, "look at me, just chatting the night away while it's so late. You two better be getting home!"

Judy nodded and stood up, reaching out to shake Mrs. Wilde's paw. "I had a wonderful time meeting you, m'am," she said sincerely, "thanks for everything."

"Anytime, sweetheart!" The vixen beamed, giving a gentle tug on Judy's hand and pulling her in for a hug. "You're welcome back any time you like!"

Judy seemed taken aback by the welcoming gesture, but she smiled and relaxed into the hug with a nod.

"I'm going to go get my coat, sweetheart," Judy said, turning back to give Nick a quick kiss on the cheek.

Nick nodded, his cheek still tingling even when Judy pulled away to go retrieve her cardigan from the coat closet.

 _Fake, fake, fake, fake._

"Oh, Nick," his mother whispered, now pulling him in close to her, "I really like her! I think she'd be someone really good for you! Maybe she's even the one, you know?"

Normally, Nick would have scoffed this off — he had never been big on the idea of soulmates or the notion that there was one person out there for him that he was destined to be with.

But watching Judy's tiny paws as she buttoned up her cardigan, making eye contact with her as she looked up to smile at him through her lashes, he couldn't help it.

He sighed. "Believe me, Mom, I know."

* * *

It was amazing to Nick how in a matter of 24 hours, he could go from having tea with his mother in her living room to being trapped in a boiler room, handcuffed to a bunny, and under interrogation by a very angry tiger holding a very large knife.

And by amazing, he meant completely and utterly terrifying.

It all started during one of their missions for the active Night Howlers case. They'd followed a lead to what they thought to be an abandoned lab located in the depths of the Rainforest District. And, as it would turn out, they were right.

It was a sort of underground compound hidden away behind one of the waterfalls. The floors and walls were concrete, everything was _wet_ and _slimy,_ and the whole place reeked of rotten moss. They'd entered through the hidden entrance behind the waterfall, crawled through the pipe system, and ended up in this hallway, on the precipice of the doorway to the lab.

"Why can't bad guys ever have non-creepy headquarters?" Nick asked as Judy fumbled with the door. "Ya' know, one without drainage issues and spiders?"

"The door is sealed with a password," Judy said, choosing to award his quip with only a small smile. She gestured to the electronic screen attached to the wall, and Nick stepped forward to take a closer look.

"I could call for some backup analysts to come take a look at it," she continued, examining the door forlornly, "but that could take hours…"

Nick clicked his tongue, and Judy turned to look at him inquisitively. "Yes, Nick?"

He smirked at her. "Sweetheart, you're forgetting that I work at an electronics store. It's my _job_ to deal with tech."

Judy placed her paws on her hips and smiled challengingly at him. "Are you saying you think you can get us past this?"

"No," Nick shook his head, and pushed her aside gently. "I'm saying I _know_ I can."

Judy just raised an eyebrow and watched as he got to work, using quick paws and a focused concentration to hack into the passcode system. Within minutes, there was a soft click, a couple beeps, and the door slid open.

"I can't believe you actually did it!" Judy gasped, giving him an affectionate pat on the arm. "Nice work, Slick!"

"Ye of little faith!" Nick said in mock-offense, placing his paw over his heart. "I told you I was good."

Judy rolled her eyes, and pulled on his arm. "Come on, hotshot — you can gloat later."

"Oh, and you know I will," Nick teased, letting her pull him through the doorway.

The room that awaited them had to be the lab, or, what was left of it at least. It looked like an old boiler room turned into a greenhouse of sorts — there were heat lamps everywhere, casting the dark room with a humid, orange glow. Against the walls were long tables with empty planter boxes on them. Rusted metal pipes ran up the walls and across the ceiling, dripping water back to the concrete floor at a slow, torturous pace.

"It looks like we're too late," Nick muttered as Judy pulled out a flashlight. "These planters are all empty, Fluff."

Judy's nose twitched as she searched the room, and Nick took pictures for evidence. The longer they stayed in this lab, the less he liked it. Something didn't feel right — and maybe it was just the damp air, but he was starting to get the shakes. It was quiet down here, and not to sound clichéd, too quiet. He kept glancing over his shoulder, checking that the coast was clear. The door was still open, any second now someone could walk in and—

Suddenly, Judy gasped, and Nick nearly jumped a mile. " _Christ,_ Carrots!" Nick hissed, turning to glance at her. "You nearly gave me a heart att—"

"I found something!" Judy said excitedly, running over to a planter located in the corner of the boiler room lab.

Nick followed her, and to his surprise, saw that Judy had discovered a small, slightly crushed, purple flower left behind in the wreckage of strewn planter boxes.

"What is it?" Nick asked, regarding the plant warily as Judy raised it to eye level and gently ran her paws over it.

"It's Midnicampum holicithias," Judy whispered, "a Class C botanical."

Nick eyed her. "In English, Carrots."

She rolled her eyes at him and nudged his shoulder gently. "Night Howlers!"

Nick let her nudge slide and nodded in recognition. "Right. Sorry, I just didn't know they taught botany in spy school."

"They don't really," Judy admitted, "I just grew up on a farm — plant husbandry was kinda our thing."

Nick smiled as yet he processed yet another piece of the mental puzzle that was Judy Hopps. "Huh," he remarked as Judy bagged some of the plant for evidence, "I never would have pinned 'ya for a farm bunny, Carrots. Though I guess it makes sense, with the whole carrot-farming bunnies thing."

Judy quirked an eyebrow at him. "What carrot-farming bunny thing?"

"You know, rabbits, they…uh…" He saw the warning look on her face, and smiled apologetically. "You know what, never mind."

Judy smirked. "That's what I thought." She pocketed the evidence, and motioned to the door. "We should get out of here. You got the pictures right?"

Nick held up his phone as the pair headed to the door. "Of course."

"Great!" Judy beamed. "Then let's get this back to Bogo so we can finally make some headway with this case!"

But of course, just like all of their missions, it was never that easy.

They stepped through the doorway, only to set off some sort of alarm. Lights flashed, sirens blared, and lasers cut off the hallway in front of them.

"What the hell!?" Nick exclaimed, putting out a paw to keep Judy from falling forward.

"I thought you said you hacked it!" Judy hissed, glancing around frantically at the lasers before turning to glare at Nick.

"I did!" Nick insisted, glaring back at her. "I hacked the door! How was I supposed to know about some secret security system?! _You're_ the real spy!"

Judy opened her mouth to fire something back, but was cut off by the sounds of clicking triggers.

"Don't move," a smooth voice said, and when Nick and Judy turned away from each other to look, they were greeted by the sight of 20 or so guns aimed directly at them.

The lasers were deactivated, and the tiger with the smooth voice stepped closer to them. "Welcome, agents," he said cooly, not lowering his gun. "You should have told me you two were coming, we could have made things a lot more…accommodating for you.

"Drop your weapons," he continued, and when Nick and Judy hesitated, added, "NOW."

They did as they were told, and the tiger chuckled. "There — that wasn't so hard, now was it?"

"Look," Nick said slowly as he and Judy raised their paws behind their heads, "we're not looking for any trouble—"

"I know you two don't work for us," the tiger said snidely, "that means you're the _definition_ of trouble."

There was a flash of movement, and with a slamming punch, the tiger knocked Judy out cold.

Nick's eyes widened as she slumped to the floor in a tiny heap. " _Carrots!"_

Another flash, another punch.

And that's when Nick blacked out.

* * *

When Nick finally woke up, he was sitting in a chair next to Judy, whom he was also handcuffed too. His head was pounding, and his body was aching as if he had just been dragged for several miles. He had less than a second to process where he was (another boiler room, one without planter boxes and several more scary-looking hench-mammals), before his and Judy's chairs were spun around roughly to face the tiger who'd captured them.

He was holding a knife out towards them, eyes narrowed and sleeves rolled up.

Nick glanced down to see that they were tied to their chairs with ropes. The exit, located across the other side of the room, was guarded by another tiger and a leopard.

 _How were they going to make it out of this?_

He turned to frantically glance at Judy, but she simply stared straight ahead, paws clasped behind her back.

"Now that you two are up, we can have a little fun," The tiger said, pulling a long, silver knife out of the sheath he had strapped to his thigh.

"Or we could just talk!" Nick offered quickly, voicing several octaves higher than usual. "Ya' know, we could just have a little pow-wow, right here in this…lovely boiler room of yours! Preferably without knives involved?"

"Shut up!" The predator demanded, stepping closer to the two of them, "now, tell me — who you do work for?"

"Like we'd tell you!" Judy snorted, and the tiger's brow furrowed deeper.

"Not that there's anything to tell!" Nick added, still rambling, "we're no one, really, we were just on a walk and we found this place and—"

"Who do you work for?!" The tiger snapped, stepping forward to press the knife against Judy's throat. "I won't ask again!"

The sight made Nick's heart lurch, despite the fact that Judy still looked completely calm. Well, calm, with a heavy heaping of controlled anger. She squirmed slightly, and gritted her teeth.

"W-we told you already!" Nick stammered, trying desperately to take the tiger's attention off Judy. "We're nobodies! This is all a big mistake, so why don't you let us go, and we can just forget this all happened!"

The tiger scowled at him. "You better shut your mouth fox, before I slit your girlfriend's pretty little throat here!"

Judy glared up at him, stone-faced, and Nick bit down on his muzzle to keep himself from saying anything more.

"Not gonna talk, huh?" The tiger went on, snorting dismissively, "no matter. I think a little persuasion may help…" He released Judy and turned around, walking over to a small table he had set up a few feet away. Nick couldn't see exactly what was on it, but from what he could tell, there were a lot of small, shiny, and dangerously pointy objects.

When the tiger turned back to them, he had a dangerous leer on his face and a dripping medical syringe in his paw. He gave it an experimental push, and a clear liquid came squirting out of the needle.

"Sulfuric acid," he smirked, stepping closer to them once more. "I would hate to inject one of you with it — it's a terribly painful way to die." He leaned down close to Judy, voice low and controlled. "Just tell me what I need to know, darling."

Nick took a deep breath. He could feel his paws start to shake as he desperately tried to plan a way to hustle their way out of this, but he kept coming up blank.

"Or maybe we could forget the torture," the tiger continued, running the tip of the needle down the fur of Judy's arm, "and I could take you out back and show you a good time—"

And that was all it took.

Judy scowled, and swung her foot up to kick the tiger right between the legs. The tiger dropped the needle and swore loudly, and Judy took advantage of how he doubled over to punch him in the jaw, then kick him straight to the ground. She rose to her feet, eyes blazing.

Nick gaped at her as the sliced ropes around him loosened, and slipped away. "How did you—?"

Judy gave a yank on the handcuffs, which pulled him up onto his feet with her. "I always keep a knife up my sleeve!" She explained, whipping it out for him to see. "Don't you?"

He would have laughed in disbelief, but there was no time. There were at least 20 bad guys, and only 2 of them — it was time to put all of his endurance training with Judy to the test.

"You ready, Slick?" Judy asked as the mammals started to close in.

"Trust me," Nick raised his fists, narrowed his eyes, and took a breath, "I got your back, Jude."

The predators lunged towards them, but Nick and Judy fought together, punching with their free paws and kicking in tandem. It took surprisingly less of an adaption period than Nick had expected, considering they were handcuffed together, but they made it work. Nick landed a blow to the leopard's jaw, Judy gave a kick to an arctic wolf that sent him spiraling backwards. Nick's heart was pounding in his ears, and he could taste the familiar taste of blood in his mouth, feel the sinking pain of teeth sinking into flesh, fists against bone, but he didn't stop, not with Judy at his side.

It was a fast, furious, but completely natural flow, fighting as one. Nick gripped both of Judy's paws and swung her in the air, while she used the height and momentum to kick one of the last attackers right in the face. She landed back on her feet gracefully as she threw Nick a proud smile and nod.

 _Let's finish this._

Nick grinned back, and delivered the final roundhouse kick, spinning Judy along with him in the process. The lone ram stumbled backwards, knocked into the concrete wall, and fell to the floor, leaving Nick and Judy as the last two standing.

Their attackers lay in a heap on the floor, knocked out and bruised. Nick and Judy panted, staring down at them with an exhausted sort of pride. Nick had a bite mark on his leg, Judy a black eye, and probably several sprains for both of them, but it didn't matter. They were _alive_ and Judy was _safe_ and holy hell, Nick had just taken down _20_ mammals.

"Does this make me as good as you?" He joked, turning to look at Judy.

Judy laughed breathlessly. "I think so," she replied, looking up at him in delight. She checked her pocket, and to both of their relief, found the Night Howler sampler still there. "Maybe even better."

Nick's eyes widened excitedly, and Judy held up a paw to stop him. "I said _maybe_ , Slick. Don't get too excited."

"Well, either way," Nick smiled, "I think we make a pretty good team." He looked her over gently, licked his paw, then leaned down to wipe some of the blood off her cheek.

Judy smiled back at up him, a real, genuine smile, and Nick knew he'd be lying if he said it didn't make his heart rise just a little.

"I couldn't agree more, Nick."

* * *

"Good work, agents," Bogo said over teleconference that evening, "you two managed to get a sample of the Night Howlers, and detain a good 2 dozen of the mammals involved. We have agents interrogating them as we speak."

"What can we say?" Nick shrugged, standing beside Judy, "all in a day's work, right?" The pair had been cleaned up by a ZBI medical team (and had the handcuffs removed), and were currently back in headquarters, muscles still sore.

Bogo gave a heavy sigh, and eyed Nick through the screen. "I can't believe I'm about to say this, Wilde, but it appears to be that turning you into a spy is a decision I don't…. _thoroughly_ regret."

"Aw, I love 'ya too, Chief," Nick quipped. His smirk grew even bigger when he heard Judy snort and giggle into her paw.

Bogo gave them both a dry look before continuing. "Your training will soon be complete, Wilde. You do know what that means, don't you?"

Nick hesitated, because to be honest, he wasn't exactly sure. "I'll get a bonus check and a nice pat on the back?"

"You'll be re-stationed, given _international_ missions to work on, and your own team of agents. And—" He sighed once more, and paused to roll his eyes up to the ceiling, "a bonus check."

Nick couldn't help but feel excited. Once he was finished training, he'd be a real spy, one worthy of Judy. Perhaps it was futile, but he couldn't help but hope that maybe once he finished this, Judy would think of him as something more than just a trainee. Maybe he wouldn't have to give up on his feelings for her. Maybe they could have a _real_ relationship.

He turned to smile at her, but to his surprise, noticed that Judy wasn't looking at him. Her gaze was focused on her feet, her brow furrowed, and her nose was twitching.

 _Strange._

"But before we get to that," Bogo said," we need to solve this Night Howlers case. So get some rest, and report back to me at oh-nine-hundred tomorrow morning."

Judy looked up immediately, and nodded. "Yes, sir!"

Bogo gave them a stern look before signing off, and ending the conference, leaving Nick and Judy alone.

Nick saw that Judy still looked worried, and he hesitated. "Hey, Carrots, you okay?"

She turned to look up at him, violet eyes wide. "What!?"

"You just…" He paused and scanned her over again. "You look…off. Like something's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong!" Judy said quickly. Then she frowned. "Nothing…not…it's just what Bogo said…about this almost being over…"

Nick's mouth curved upward, and he slipped his hands into his pockets. "Don't tell me you're going to miss me, Fluff."

He expected her to deny everything, to insist she was being professional and that it was just a cover. Then he'd laugh, make some quip, they'd part ways, and he'd secretly try to get over his feelings for her.

He didn't expect her to say yes.

And yet, she did.

"I will," she said softly, gaze falling down to the floor. "You've been a great partner Nick, you really do have so much potential, and…and…I know you'll make a great spy."

Nick was taken aback by her confession, to say the least. He blinked at her, mind spinning and rushing to process it all. He'd known for awhile that something needed to change, and in that moment, standing in their undercover base and heavily bruised, he knew what that change was.

He needed the truth.

"Carrots…" he began, reaching out to grasp her paw. "Judy — we need to talk."

Judy glanced down at their intertwined paws, then back up at him, nose twitching faster now. "O-okay."

"I know, technically speaking, we're just a cover," Nick said slowly, gently running his thumb over her paw, "And that this…this dating, feelings thing, is all fake, but there are times where it feels so real, you know?"

Judy just looked back at him, her voice nothing more than a soft whisper. "I know."

"And I'm not getting any younger, and in a few months I'm going to be a _real_ spy, and I just thought—" He glanced down, then back up at her, taking a deep breath before he spoke. "So I just…I wanna know," He took a deep breath. "Is this…us…are we going anywhere? Do you think maybe we could ever be anything more than just a cover?"

It was rare for him, to expose his feelings like this. But Judy had gotten to him, and he was tired of wandering around blindly.

The monitors on the walls blinked silently, the clock ticked on the wall, and in the 6 seconds it took Judy to respond, Nick felt as if he was experiencing every breath, every heartbeat, in a slow, delicate tandem.

He wanted her to say yes.

If only it'd been that easy.

"Nick," Judy said carefully, voice constricted and strained, "You know it's just a cover — none of this is real. After I'm done training you, they'll put me back undercover."

"I know, but couldn't we—"

"I'm sorry, Nick," Judy murmured, releasing his paws, and Nick felt as if all the air in his lungs had suddenly been sucked away. "But we can't be together. I'm sorry if I…led you on, or confused you, but I was just doing my job."

Nick looked at her for a moment, and then something within him clicked. His expression glazed over, and his eyes fell half-lidded with indifference. He felt his body tense at he was hit with punch after punch of emotion — disbelief, heartbreak, acceptance. "Right," he muttered, slipping his paws back into his pockets. "What was I thinking, right?" She gave him a pitying look, and he laughed bitterly at the ceiling. " _God,_ I'm an idiot."

Judy bit her lip, and for a brief moment seemed to hesitate. "Nick…"

"I gotta go," He said abruptly, pulling away and turning towards the exit. He grabbed his coat off the chair he'd strewn it over, and didn't turn back. "See you at work tomorrow."

He heard her call out his name again, but didn't stop. He left the base quickly, the chilly fall air a welcoming comfort to his burning ears. He drew his coat closer around him, looked up at the night sky, and reminded himself to breathe.

She'd gotten to him. He'd put himself out there, made an ass of himself, and she got to him. It was her job to deceive people and Nick had willingly walked off the deep end for her.

He broke into a quick walk, and forcefully buried his emotions deep down, settling for only sheer determination. There wasn't time for remorse or regret. They had a job to do, and he was going to get it done and move past this. This was the change he needed and one thing was clear:

He wouldn't make this same mistake again.

* * *

Judy smashed her fist into the side of the punching bag with a satisfying blow, one that echoed throughout the empty training room. Her forehead was slick with sweat, and her feet bounced off the slate floor with a satisfying smack.

 _There are times where it feels so real, you know?_

Her brow furrowed, and she punched the punching bag several more times, pausing only to wipe the sweat off her brow. Her paws were wearing through the boxing gloves, and her body was aching in pain, but she couldn't stop. If she did, then she'd be left alone with her thoughts, and her regret, and—

 _None of this is real._

She should have said yes. She should have opened herself up to him and fallen into his arms and let everything work itself out. But what then? They'd fall in love, then they'd be separated, she'd be undercover a million miles away, a new name, a new life. Same for Nick too. Not to mention the risks — the cardinal rule of spying was that you didn't fall in love, ever. Falling in love meant you had a weakness, something to lose.

She'd told him she was doing her job, that he was confused, but the truth was Judy was finding her growing feelings for Nick increasingly harder to ignore. The way he was the only other agent that'd actually stopped to worry for her, to ask her how she was feeling. The way he accepted her, despite her past. The way he made her laugh, the way he was willing to fight for her, protect her.

The way he loved her.

Judy let out an angry cry, and gave the punching bag one final punch, finally crumpling to the ground. She sat on the floor, head between her knees, sweat dripping onto the black floor, and chest heaving.

Emotions would get you killed in this kind of business, and with each moment, Judy became more aware of the emotions growing inside her, around her, binding her to her mission, her Nick. It was supposed to be temporary, something to prove to Bogo that she could handle anything and yet —

She was falling for Nick, and she was terrified.

* * *

 **[A/N: Don't fret over the chiffhanger! This story has 3 parts, so hold tight for the final chapter!]**


	3. Nick vs The Agent

**[A/N]:** Thank you so much for your patience with the update! This final part turn out to be over 10,000 words! So I split it up into this chapter, one more chapter, and an epilogue.

* * *

As it would turn out, unofficially breaking up with his official fake girlfriend would bring out a character flaw that both Nick and Judy possessed: stubbornness. Both the fox and bunny seemed intent on proving that they were perfectly fine with their current situation, and that their spat hadn't affected them even in the slightest.

This stubborn pride resulted in bickering. _A lot_ of bickering.

They were on a follow-up mission in the Rainforest District, undercover as a pair of lovebirds on an ordinary date. A further investigation of the now destroyed Night Howler lab had conjured up nothing, and now the pair was crossing a rope bridge back towards the train station.

It was another typical night for the district — a heavy, steady downpour, illuminated only by the occasional flash of lightning. All the local mammals were in their homes, taking shelter from the harsh storm, leaving Nick and Judy alone.

Everything had been tensely pleasant at first, until Nick had accidentally moved their one shared umbrella slightly to the left, getting Judy soaked. She accused him of doing it on purpose, he called her delusional, she called him unprofessional, and he tossed the umbrella off the edge of the rope bridge just to spite her.

"Nice, real nice," Judy seethed, glaring at Nick as he folded his arms over his chest smugly. The rain wasn't relentless, pouring down on both of them and getting them completely soaked to the bone.

"Now who's unprofessional?" Nick smirked, trying to ignore how unpleasant the rain felt against his fur.

"Still you!" Judy snapped, voice rising both in anger, and to be heard over the pounding of the rain. "That umbrella was ZBI property! Taxpayers' go towards paying for it!"

"Well, I'll make sure to pay the taxpayers back the entire $4.99 for the umbrella."

"You better!"

"I said I would!"

"Fine!"

" _Fine!"_

It was ridiculously stupid. They both knew it. But bickering was the only way they knew to cope with their current emotions.

Unfortunately, it was also the way they were screwing up all of their missions. Because while they stood on the middle of the rope bridge arguing about the cost of an umbrella, they were completely oblivious to the jaguar that stood on the opposite end of the bridge, the jaguar that slashed the end of the ropes with a very large knife.

There was a snap, and thanks to Nick's night vision, he saw the ropes fall and managed to figure out what was happening only seconds before it was too late.

 _"Carrots, run!"_ He snapped, yanking her by the arm and pulling her across the bridge.

The rain was pouring harder and faster as Judy threw a frantic glance over her shoulder and Nick dragged her along. He could hear the sound of rushing wind and falling debris as the bridge started to slip, faster and faster, but they were almost at the end, they could make it —

— until Nick slipped on the wet wood, they both fell backward, and the next thing he knew, they were free-falling.

He could hear himself screaming, but he couldn't make himself stop. Sopping tree branches smacked against his fur, rain pelleted against his muzzle, planks of the bridge were falling around him, and the only thing he had to hold onto was Judy's paw, which he was still grasping onto for dear life.

He could feel the inevitable coming, the ground had to be getting closer by every second, and for a moment he really regretted that his last words would be referring to a rabbit as a vegetable.

And then, there was a loud, wet, _SMACK,_ and Nick felt himself immediately twisted in the air. His body spun as leafy vines broke his fall, entangling and turning him until he finally came to a stop, face-to-face, and for the second time in two months, tied to Judy.

The bunny was panting, blinking back at him as they hung upside down, suspended only a few feet above the street concrete. The vines were wrapped tightly around the both of them, so tightly that Nick had his nose smashed against Judy's muzzle.

Nick blinked at her, mouth curving upward into a shaky smile. "C-Carrots!" He exclaimed, breathless, "W-we didn't die!"

Judy frowned and wrenched her muzzle away so they were now pressed cheek-to-cheek. "Yes, but the perp got away! That had to be a member of the Night Howlers gang! He was _following_ us!"

Nick eyed her as much as he could, blinking back raindrops as they slipped down his neck and onto his face. "We'll catch him, we always do."

"—And if you hadn't been distracting me with the stupid umbrella!"

And they were right back at it again.

"Oh, so this is my fault?!" Nick snarked, turning his head so their faces were pressed together again.

"You played a part in it!"

"I saved your life, Carrots!"

"You did not! These vines did!"

"If it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't have even noticed the suspect!"

"Yes, I would have! You wouldn't have been distracting me and I would have seen him and detained him."

"Get real, Fluff, you probably would have just yelled at him about taxpayers."

Amidst their arguing, they were oblivious to all the lights flickering on inside the nearby homes and buildings. The Rainforest District dwellers had been startled awake by the loud crash of the falling bridge, and the loud arguing following it, and before long, Nick and Judy had a small crowd forming outside.

Curious eyes stared at the fox and rabbit tied upside down, surrounded by broken wood planks and rope, and before long, questions were being asked, whispers were being exchanged, and Judy looked angrier at Nick than ever.

The feeling was mutual. Well, that's what Nick kept telling himself, anyway.

Needless to say, they were off their game. And no matter what, Nick could always count on Bogo to point it out to them.

"I'm beginning to worry that your cover may be compromised," the cape buffalo said over teleconference later that night, "You nearly blew your cover tonight! Do you know how much damage control we're going to have to do to fix your little incident in the Rainforest District?"

"I'm sorry, sir," Judy said sternly. She was standing beside Nick, but not looking at him, which was probably for the best, since she still looked completely furious with him, "It was mistake, and it won't happen again."

"I know it won't, that's why I'm sending in a supervisor," Bogo said simply, "A higher-level agent to watch over you and document your progress. He will decide whether or not you're fit to finish Wilde's training, Hopps."

"A supervisor?" Nick laughed, trying not to sound nervous, a feat that was hard to achieve while he and Judy were wide-eyed, splattered in mud, and sporting several wounds, "Sounds more like a babysitter to me."

Judy wasn't laughing though, quite the opposite. "Chief, this is ridiculous! This is _my_ mission, I don't need someone breathing down our — _my_ back!" She gave Nick a pointed glare at the last part, to which Nick scoffed and rolled his eyes. "We're doing perfectly fine!"

"Well, we'll just leave that to your supervisor to decide."

Judy thumped her foot impatiently and put her paws on her hips. "And who exactly would that be?"

"Savage, Jack Savage," a voice said cooly, "Class 1, ZBI."

Nick looked up to see a rabbit entering the room on queue. He was only slightly taller than Judy, had a crisp, polished accent, a brisk walk, and was wearing a suit that looked like it cost more than Nick's monthly rent.

Nick glanced questioningly at Judy, but she looked equally as taken aback. "Jack Savage?" She repeated breathlessly.

"Agent Hopps," Jack smiled, stopping in front of Judy, "I've heard a lot about you. It's an honor to be working together."

"And you!" Judy gushed, her voice at a higher pitch than Nick had ever heard out of her. "You're _amazing_ , Savage! The missions you've accomplished, the places you've been, the mammals you've apprehended — you're _legendary_!"

"You flatter me, Hopps," the male rabbit said smoothly, reaching out to shake Judy's paw.

Nick looked back and forth between the two rabbits, not liking the way Judy was _giggling_ , or the way Jack was _smiling_ at her, or the way Nick's stomach was churning as his mind dared to put two and two together.

 _Maybe_ he was jumping to conclusions.

But maybe he wasn't.

"Hiya, Jack," Nick said briskly, stepping in between the two agents and shaking Jack's paw over-enthusiastically, "it's a pleasure, believe me. I haven't heard Carrots talk this excitedly about something since they invented sliced bread."

If Jack registered the slight sarcasm in Nick's tone, he didn't register it, instead, he raised an eyebrow. "Carrots?"

Judy blushed and threw Nick a look. "It's a…nickname he has for me."

"Quite cute," Jack said, smiling politely at Nick in a way that made him tense, "But I think it's for the best if you refer to Agent Hopps by her proper name when you're not actively undercover."

"Right, of course," Nick replied dryly. If he was going to be honest, the idea of calling Judy anything other than Carrots, Fluff, or Cottontail was absurd to him.

"I will be in charge of this operation from now on," Jack instructed, looking back and forth between them both. "If you have any issues, any fights, report them to me. I will be monitoring Hopp's training and stepping in when I see fit, understood?"

"Yes!" Judy nodded eagerly.

Nick wasn't as enthusiastic — not even close, but he wasn't stupid either. If he and Judy seemed like a volatile liability, Judy would be sent away, leaving Jack or who knew who else to finish his training. Then not only would Nick potentially not ever see her again, but he'd also might lose his chance to ever make things up with her.

Because at the end of the day, no matter what he told himself, he knew deep down that he didn't want to fight with Judy. It'd only been two months and he was completely drained.

So he had to keep his head down, listen to Jack, and prove that he and Judy could work together, even if, for the moment, it wasn't _completely_ true.

But that's what covers were for, right?

* * *

Nick knew that once Jack was sent, the rabbit would have to watch them closely.

He just didn't know it was going to be _so_ very closely.

It was just like when Judy had first been assignment to watch him (thinking back to the whole binoculars incident), except this time it was worse, because Jack wasn't nearly as cute or likable. If anything, he was the complete opposite. He wasn't a _terrible_ mammal, in fact, he technically did nothing wrong at all — he just had a peculiar knack for making everything he did irritating to Nick.

Like the way he sat on the sidelines during Nick and Judy's physical training, throwing out comments about how Nick should have dodged to the left, not the right, and how Nick should have swept the leg, not attempt a high-kick. Or the way he got up afterwards to correct Judy on her attempts by guiding her body with his own paws. The way that thanks to him, Judy had been all red afterwards, and not from her exertion with Nick.

Or the way he followed them around town, always documenting everything for Bogo. The way if Nick so much as even started to call Judy a nickname, Jack would clear his throat and give him a warning look.

The way Jack and Judy would always be chatting like two peas in a pod, exchanging stories about missions and showing off battle scars, while Nick sat there loudly slurping his coffee cup in the middle of a crowded Snarlbucks.

The way that Jack and Judy were both rabbits, and amazing spies. Even their _names_ sounded good together. Jack and Judy. Judy and Jack. The way Judy had completely brushed off Nick's affections, but seemed to revel in Jack's attention.

The way Jack even showed up at Nick's _work_ now.

It was a typical Thursday afternoon, and the rabbits were waltzing side-by-side down the DVD section (which, on a side note, Nick wasn't quite sure why the store sold them, because really, who still bought _DVD's?),_ chatting away, while Nick had nothing to do but sulk behind the customer service counter.

The biggest problem wasn't even that Jack was around, but that Jack was so _perfect,_ and technically speaking, _nice._ Nick had nothing to base his annoyance for the rabbit on, because Jack was just doing his job. When he corrected him during training, Nick knew it wasn't personal. When he helped Judy with her maneuvers, he was just trying to help…probably.

So why couldn't Nick shake this looming jealousy?

Nick clicked and unclicked a pen in his paw, glancing up at Judy when he thought she wasn't looking. Judy would glance back at him occasionally, keeping her eye on him, as was her job as his handler, but each time Nick would look away and pretend to completely occupied with the computer he was seated behind.

Their back-and-forth eye banter didn't go unnoticed to Nick's best friend (also seated at the counter), and after the 5th or so time of Nick pretending he hadn't seen Judy looking at him, the fennec fox just had to speak up.

"You sure you're alright?" Finnick asked, eyeing him. "You know, you and Judy still cool?"

"Of course we're _cool!_ " Nick insisted, using every ounce of strength in him to not sound sarcastic, "Why wouldn't we be? In fact, things have never been better."

"Really?" Finnick asked skeptically.

Nick bared his teeth in a smile. "Really."

"'Cause it looks like she's all over that asshole over there. You gotta defend your girl, Nick."

Nick didn't have to look, and yet, he did. And sure enough, Jack was whispering something to Judy, making her laugh, and driving Nick crazy.

Maybe it was just because Jack was a rabbit, and Judy was a rabbit, and therefore that made them perfect together, in some old-fashioned sort of way. Or maybe it was because Jack was as good of a spy as Judy — she didn't have to constantly look after him the way she did with Nick. They had so much in common, while Nick and Judy were as opposite as the sun and the moon.

Or maybe it was because he was jealous.

The thought was just settling in as the two rabbits came closer again, turning to head down the half-assed book section the electronic store had, and Nick took the opportunity to excuse himself from Finnick to rush over to Judy's side.

"Can we talk, Fluff?" Nick asked, gently placing his paw on her arm. Since they were at work, Jack couldn't scold him for using a nickname, even though Nick could tell by the way he glanced at Nick that he probably wanted to. But it didn't matter: they were at his work, which meant for the next 6 hours, _'Agent Hopps'_ was his girlfriend.

Judy jumped slightly at the physical contact, and Nick could have sworn he saw her cheeks flash pink for a moment. "Right now?"

"Yeah," Nick said, throwing Jack a glance, "It's kinda important…. _sweetie_."

Judy's eyes narrowed slightly, but she smiled sweetly at him, nodding. "Alright, _honey._ Let's talk."

"Where should we go?" Jack asked, looking between the fox and rabbit, whose gazes were still locked.

" _You're_ not going anywhere," Nick said simply, yanking the first book he touched off a shelf and handing it to Jack, "Judy and I are going to talk, you're going to wait here and read…iPawds for Dummies. Enjoy."

 _"Nick!"_ Judy gasped hotly, glaring at him, "Show some respect!"

"It's quite alright, Judy," Jack said, eying Nick with a tight smile, "If you two need to work out your issues, go right ahead. I'm fine waiting here. Just alert me to any problems, if needed."

Judy huffed and opened her mouth to retort, but Nick was already pulling her away, off to the home theatre room, a private area of the store reserved for customers to test out the latest home theatre equipment and luxury couches.

Nick scanned the room to make sure it was empty before he locked the door. The room's walls were lined with floor-length windows and red curtains, the latter of which Nick pulled shut, giving them some privacy. Once he was certain they were alone, he turned his attention to Judy, who was standing near one of the couches and thumping her foot.

"What's going on, Nick?" She asked, paws on her hips.

"Oh, nothing," Nick said dryly, walking over to her with his paws in his pockets, "It's just that I thought _we_ were supposed to be dating."

"What?"

"Our cover?"

"…Oh. Right."

"You're getting awfully buddy-buddy with Jack," Nick continued, not liking the way Judy blushed after, "It's starting to look funny. Finnick was asking questions."

Judy hesitated. "My relationship with Ja—Agent Savage is strictly professional."

Nick raised an eyebrow.

Judy folded her arms and unfolded them, drooped her ears and raised them. She was nervous, Nick could tell. Because she liked Jack and was nervous about Nick confronting her? Because talking with Nick made her antsy? Because they were still sort of in a fight?

"But…I guess you're right," the bunny admitted, glancing at him, "Ever since our falling out, our cover has been a little weak."

Nick snorted. "'Falling out?' Is that what you're calling it?"

She looked at him indignantly. "Well, what would you call it?"

"A fight? We've been going at it ever since, Fluff, and now we got a supervisor breathing down our backs."

"Yes…" Judy's shoulders slumped, her tough exterior slowly beginning to crumble. "I know, and I'm sorry. I…I freaked out and let my emotions get the better of me and now it's all a big mess."

"I wouldn't say it's _that_ big of a mess. More like 3 feet, give or take, and that's including his giant ears."

Judy chose to ignore his jab towards Jack. "I'm sorry I was so cold to you," she apologized. "I think it only made things worse."

Nick shrugged. "I wasn't the best person to be around, either."

Judy nodded, there was a beat of silence, and then she spoke up once more. "I miss being friends," she added weakly, looking up at him with an innocent pout. "We were friends, weren't we?"

"Of course we were!" Nick scanned her over, and if he hadn't thought that'd it'd be weird he probably would have given her a hug. "I miss being friends too, Carrots. I was hurt and acting like an asshole, and I'm sorry."

Judy smiled gently at him. "Can we call it a truce?"

"On one condition," Nick replied, raising a finger, "You never use the word 'umbrella' again."

Judy gave a loud snort, then immediately placed her paws over her mouth in embarrassment. "I'm s-sorry!" She laughed nervously, cheeks pink.

Nick smirked at her, trying to ignore the little skipping feeling his heart did when he heard her laugh. "Don't worry, Fluff. We all make obnoxious noises at some point. At least that's what I hear, anyway, I, on the other hand, have nev—"

Judy punched his arm playfully. "If you don't stop talking I'm going to make you do 100 sit-ups again."

"Well, we're not in headquarters, so you can't do that, sweetheart."

"I can to!" Judy insisted, thumping her foot once to enunciate her point. "Drop and give me a hundred, c'mon!"

Nick snorted. "Not happening, Hopps."

Judy's brow furrowed, and she smiled at him exasperatedly. She leapt forward and grabbed his paws, attempting to push him down onto the floor. "C'mon, Nick!" She laughed, holding onto him as he squirmed.

"You're insane, Carrots!" Nick laughed. "I'm not going to—"

The doorknob to the theater room rattled, and the fox and bunny froze. Nick peeled Judy off of him, took a step forward, and peeked through the curtains. At first he didn't see anyone, but then he lowered his gaze and saw his barely 2-foot-tall best friend jiggling the doorknob with a key.

"It's Finnick," Nick muttered, looking back at Judy nervously. "I'm still supposed to be working right now. He probably saw us come in here and—"

Judy smacked a paw over Nick's mouth before shoving him down onto the luxury couch, pouncing on top of him, and popping open the top two buttons on his shirt.

Nick's eyes widened. _"What the hell, Carrots?"_ He yelped, but was cut off by Judy burying her muzzle into his neck.

As completely confused as Nick was right now, it wasn't like he was exactly _complaining_ about his current state. The only real problem was that it was incredibly hard to remind himself that he wasn't supposed to have a crush on Judy anymore when she was on top of him, kissing his neck, and pawing at his fur.

The door burst open, and Finnick entered, glancing around before he finally spotted them. He looked surprised at first, and then a second later, not surprised at all. "Dammit, Nick! You can't keep it in your pants for one shift? You know you can't hook up in here."

"Sorry," Nick said, unable to stop the dopey grin that split his face. He sat up on the couch as Judy blushed bright red and gingerly peeled herself off of him. "We were…uh…well…"

Finnick cringed. "Don't you dare tell me the details. I don't wanna know. I just came to tell you that the manager is looking for you, not to be traumatized."

Nick nodded sheepishly. "I'll be right out."

Finnick snorted. "You better."

They waited until the fennec fox was out the door before turning to look at each other. Judy was still blushing, not looking at him, which only made Nick smile more. His eyes fell half-lidded, and his sheepish smile relaxed into an easy smirk.

" _Well, well, well_ , Carrots—"

"Don't say anything!" Judy cut him off, leaping off the couch and fixing her clothes. "It was just for the cover, understood? You said Finnick was getting suspicious. I had to act fast."

Nick smiled skeptically. "Right." He got to work buttoning up his shirt again, all the while never taking his eyes off the bashful bunny standing in front of him.

"It's just…I think Flash over in the home appliances department was getting suspicious too," he said teasingly, trying to lighten the awkward mood settling in. "Maybe we should head over there and—"

Judy gave him a look.

Nick smiled back. "Right. Well, I'm off to speak to my manager."

"Good." Judy nodded and straightened up, not looking him right in the eye. "See you in a bit."

Nick just nodded back, and left the home theatre room, fur flushed like no tomorrow.

 _He didn't like her. It was just a cover and he didn't like her and she didn't like him and she'd made that very clear and he needed to STOP liking her. Just friends, partners. No more mistakes._

His mind wandered back to her kisses, her _scent,_ her soft, warm, little breaths panting against his fur, her smile, her laugh…

…He definitely still liked her.

* * *

While Nick and Judy had made up, that didn't make dealing with Jack any easier. Especially since Nick was starting to get the sneaking suspicion that the buck valued Judy as more than just a work partner. Like how he brought her coffee in the morning. And how he was always standing near her or by her. Or the way he laughed when she laughed.

Or the way he practically literally admitted that he was interested in her.

Jack and Nick had been scheduled for private physical training, so Jack could gauge how well Judy had coached him. They buck and fox done some hand-to-hand combat, and now it was time to test his endurance. Which meant exercising.

So. Much. Exercising.

The main difference between Jack and Judy was not only that Nick actually _liked_ one of them, but also that when Jack said he was going to make Nick do 100 sit-ups in under a minute and a half, he was serious. He was also serious when he ordered Nick to run a 5 minute mile, complete 100 pull-ups, and practice lifting double his bodyweight.

They were working on weight training (correction: Nick was _dying_ while working on weight training), when Jack had brought up the issue at hand.

"So, despite your conflicts, you and Agent Hopps appear to be very close," he mused.

"Sort of!" Nick grunted, trying to hide the strain he was under. He wasn't going to let Jack know how close to the brink of death he currently was. He gritted his teeth and lifted the benchpress higher. "Why do you ask?"

Jack continued to spot him, not so much as hesitating in his cool demeanor. "Your relationship over the past 8 months has been strictly professional? There were never any personal entanglements?"

Nick couldn't help but snort. _Personal entanglements._ It sounded so cold and detached to him. Saying he was personally entangled with Judy Hopps didn't convey the way his fur prickled when she brushed against him. The way he'd invited her over for movies that one night, before they decided to shove each other into a 2-month-long-fight.

She'd brought over some popcorn and a gun that she'd hidden in a purple tupperwear container. He remembered sliding close to her and even though there was some distance between them, his nose had still picked up on the distinct smell of her fabric softener. He'd teased her about not having to spy on him with her trusty binoculars, she'd nudged him in the arm and reminded him that this was strictly professional and that it was good to practice their cover outside of work.

He let her believe that he believed that and they'd spent the rest of the night on his couch trying to ignore the magnetic pull urging them together, the gnawing need Nick had to hold her paw, or to drape his arm around her back.

Personal entanglements didn't even begin to get at how relieved he was to not be fighting with Judy anymore, or how worried he was that it would all end soon.

The end was coming, he knew this, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

To cut things short, Nick wasn't lying in the slightest when he answered Jack's question. "Nope. No entanglements whatsoever. Why do you ask?"

"I was simply inquiring for Hopp's availability," Jack said smoothly.

Nick gave a laugh that wasn't really a laugh, more like a strangled huff of air. "Why? You gonna ask her out?"

Jack kept his face unreadable, and looked away from Nick. "Let's try adding another 10 pounds," he said, in reference to the weight.

The way Nick's heart dropped felt as if he had added 50.

* * *

"Don't you think Jack is getting a _little_ in on our personal space?" Nick asked one evening in headquarters. They were sitting side-by-side at a large desk, searching the government database for any potential leads in the Night Howlers case. Jack had excused himself to the restroom, leaving Nick ( _finally_ ) alone with Judy. "I mean, the guy followed me into the bathroom the other day. It was weird."

Nick might have been exaggerating on the last part. He had been in the bathroom when Jack had just so happened to enter moments later, but the fox's point remained the same. Every time he walked in on Jack and Judy laughing together, or leaning over a computer together, or helping each other reach high shelves in the armory or file rooms, he couldn't help but feel that prick of worry as sharp and as distinct as a needle against his paw. Was Jack seriously considering asking Judy out? Wasn't that illegal, somehow? It should have definitely been illegal. Judy didn't start a relationship with Nick, so she wouldn't with Jack, either.

Right?

"He's doing his job," Judy reminded him, typing away at her computer determinedly, "Something _you_ could try."

Nick scoffed defensively. "I do my job!"

Judy peeled her eyes away from her screen to give him a withering smile. "Please, you've spent the past 30 minutes watching funny cat videos."

He smirked back. "What can I say? Cats do a hell of a stand-up routine. Besides, it was for research."

She raised a doubtful eyebrow. "Research?"

"Yup. That tiger that tried to inject us? You remember the one — muscly, very smooth-operator-meets-a-psychopath type."

Judy gave him a look. "Yes, Nick, I remember."

"Well, forensics found his laptop abandoned at that lab in the Rainforest District. I was looking through his files, internet history, the whole shebang. And apparently he likes Comedy Central."

"Interesting," Judy murmured, sliding her chair slightly closer to him to look at his screen, "but most likely irrelevant. Anything else?"

Nick nodded and scrolled through his browser, showing her what he had dug up. "Sort of. It's mostly a jumbled mess — a lot of online shopping, there's some blueprints of what looks like an auditorium or something, and his history shows he was looking up upcoming events in Savanna Central."

"Why?" Judy frowned.

Nick shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Maybe he just wanted to enjoy the Zootopian nightlife. Something _you_ could try, Carrots."

Judy shook her head at him, but Nick could see the corners of her mouth curving upward. "You're such a dumb fox," she muttered.

"You love me," Nick teased, "I keep things interesting."

"Well, you're not wrong about that!" Judy giggled, before her eyes flew open wide and she sputtered, "I meant about you being interesting, not me loving you! I mean, I care about you! It's not that I don't love you, I just—"

"I was just teasing you, Fluff," Nick interrupted, eyeing her wryly.

Judy blinked at him for a moment before she cleared her throat and spinning her chair back towards her own screen. "Right! Sorry."

"How's the research coming, Agents?" Jack asked, reentering the room and walking over to Judy. He stood behind her, paws resting over the back of her chair, which made Judy noticeably blush.

"Great!" She chirped, turning to look up at the rabbit behind her. "Nick was looking through one of the gang member's hard drives, and he found some blueprints. They look like they might be important."

"Show them to me," the buck instructed Nick, turning sharply to look at him.

"They're right here," Nick said, showing him the screen. "I'm thinking they might be for a theater, or art gallery even? It's kinda hard to tell—"

"I know that building," Jack interrupted, eyes narrowing as he examined the blueprints, "That's the city concert hall, right here in Savanna Central."

Judy looked up at Jack as he leaned over her, brow furrowed. "That doesn't make any sense. Their headquarters was in the Rainforest District, and we don't know of any other base of operations."

"There's gotta be something," Nick muttered. He peered closer at the computer and clicked through a couple screens, mind working quickly. There was the concert hall, weird eBay purchases such as wires and pyrotechnics supplies—

"They're making a bomb!" Judy gasped, gripping onto Jack's wrist.

Jack and Nick turned to look at her, shocked. "What?" Nick yelped, meeting her frantic gaze.

"It all makes sense!" Judy continued, hopping up from her chair and pacing back and forth. Her nose was twitching excitedly, and her ears were perked up in that sprightly way they did when she was excited.

She was so cute when she was like this. Not that he'd ever tell her that — she'd probably make him do 100 sit-ups.

"The supplies make sense," Nick said slowly, "Wire, explosives…but why the concert hall?"

"The International Zootopian Symphony is having a concert there tomorrow night," Jack answered, "The concert hall has been making preparations all month now, it's going to be the biggest event of the season."

"And if our Night Howler gang members all meet there —" Judy began.

"— They could set off a bomb, infecting hundreds of Zootopia's finest with Night Howlers," Nick finished.

Judy beamed at him. "Exactly!"

Jack nodded and pulled out his phone. "I'm going to contact Chief Bogo immediately. Excellent work, agents." He exited the room briefly, but not without giving Judy an affectionate pat on the back. The action made Judy blush and brush her ears down shyly, something that didn't go unnoticed by Nick.

"Nice work, Nick," She said suddenly, turning to look up at the fox, distracting his lurking sting of jealousy.

Nick smirked and tugged on her ear, loving the way she squirmed and glared at him with an endearing smile. "And here I thought I was just here to keep you interested."

"Don't make me take it back, Slick."

"Too late. You said it, I heard it, it's going on the record."

Judy laughed. "What record?!"

"The official spy record where we record everything that happens so we can remember every embarrassing thing we've done."

"That's not a thing! Which is good for you, because then we'd have down every dumb thing you've ever said."

Nick smiled as he gave himself a lighthearted jab. "I'd have a whole record for myself."

Judy laughed hard at that, so hard she gave a little snort that made her paws fly up to cover her nose in embarrassment. "S-shut up!" She stammered as Nick burst into laughter.

"God, Carrots," Nick wheezed, trying to contain his laughter. "You're really—"

"Agent Hopps!"

The fox and bunny looked up to see Jack peering into the room from the doorframe. "If you two are done fooling around, Chief Bogo wants to talk to you about the new findings."

"Yes!" Judy chirped, straightening up immediately and rushing to the door. "Right away!"

Nick watched her go, frowning as he locked eye contact with Jack. The two bunnies left to go to the teleconference room, leaving Nick to stare at the fading computer screen, conflicting emotions gnawing at him.

* * *

By the time Judy came back in the room to retrieve Nick, he had gone through the hard drive 3 more times, watched 5 more stand-up routines, made himself dizzy 4 times by spinning in his chair, and taken a 20 minute nap. The bunny woke him by shaking his shoulder, and ordering, "Up and at 'em, fox! We got a mission!"

Nick stretched and peeled himself off of the chair. "What is it?" He asked, yawning slightly.

Judy wrapped her paw around his arm and pulled him out of the analysis room and towards the teleconference area. "Chief hasn't told us yet — he wanted you to be there."

"How thoughtful of him."

They took their seats at the conference table, where Jack was already waiting. Bogo was waiting on screen, looking massive, looming, and slightly annoyed, per the norm.

"So, whaddya got for us, Chief?" Nick asked, slipping his paws behind his head and sitting back.

"It seems that your suspicions about the concert hall have good merit," Bogo began, "I've talked to other agents stationed in the area and there's been reports of a lot of chatter around there. The risk is too high to not act."

"So why don't we just cancel the concert?" Nick asked with a frown. "Why put so many mammals in danger?"

"This is our best chance to catch the masterminds behind this," the chief answered, "If we cancel the show, who knows if we'll be able to predict their next move?"

Judy tilted her head to the side slightly as she looked at Bogo. "So, what's the plan? If we cause a commotion we could scare our suspects off."

"Exactly, that's why you'll be scouting the premises in disguise. Agents Savage and Hopps will be going undercover as a couple, and Wilde will pose as a concert hall employee," Bogo instructed.

Nick's paws dropped as he gaped at the screen, trying (and failing) to not look too taken aback. "But sir, Carr — _Agent Hopps_ and I have the dating cover! Why would we change it?"

"Because Savage is more experienced," Bogo answered simply. "I think he and Hopps will work well together. Besides, no one you know will be at the concert tonight, so your cover with Hopps won't be compromised."

Nick gritted his teeth, even more so when Jack gave him that _polite,_ nearly patronizingsmile that he always did, like he knew something Nick didn't. Judy however, kept a straight face, and avoided looking at either of them.

"There's something else, Wilde — this is more than just another mission for you," Bogo continued, his voice dropping to a serious note, "This is your final test."

Nick froze. "Meaning?"

"Meaning that if you succeed on this mission, you will complete your training. But if you fail, or prove to be inadequate—"

"You'll be removed from the agency," Jack finished.

There was a small, sharp intake of breath, and Nick turned to glance at Judy, but she quickly covered the sound with a loud cough.

"Agent Hopps won't be there to hold your paw anymore," Bogo said, "That's why you'll be on your own for this mission. Hopps and Savage will be there in case things go sour, but expect you to prove your worth on your own."

Nick swallowed, but nodded. His expression grew serious, and he could feel determination settling in, quickly shoving aside any jealously he might have felt over Jack and Judy cover dating. He wasn't going to let months of training go towards nothing. Almost a year's worth of work was coming to a head, and he wasn't going to let anyone down — especially Judy.

He was ready.


	4. Nick vs The Final Test

_"Wilde, do you read me?"_

Judy's voice crackled into Nick's earpiece, cleverly hidden amidst the cream fur of his inner ear. He scanned the lobby, making sure no one was eyeing him before replying, "Loud and clear, Carrots. And may I just add that you look adorable."

He could see Judy blush all the way from across the lobby, where she was hanging onto Jack's arm and waiting to be ushered into the auditorium. The mission was underway, and this symphony was fancier than any event Nick had been to in the last...well, forever, actually. Suit and tie all around, servers passing around champagne flutes, and only the highest class of Zootopians were attending — in the last 10 minutes alone, he'd seen the mayor posing for several photos with last year's Miss Zootopia, and a handful of celebrities ranging from Gazelle to Catty Perry.

If only Nick's cover wasn't an _usher,_ he could have at least earned some fake street cred _._ Instead, he was disguised in a white collared shirt and black vest, complete with a bowtie, yes _,_ a _bowtie._

But he digressed.

"Let's remember to stay focused, team," Jack reminded Nick in his other ear, "We have a job to do."

"Affirmative," Judy nodded, straightening up and causing her red evening gown to glitter in the light. She held tighter to Jack's arm, but Nick forced himself to look away, reminding himself he had suspects to keep an eye out for, not the distractingly attractive agent or her dress.

Nick took his position by the entrance to the auditorium, where he greeted mammals and handed them a gold-embossed program. He kept a pleasant smile on his face at all times, but his eyes were moving, scanning each guest he admitted with a trained eye. He looked for bulky-looking clothing, any abnormally sized purses, anyone that couldn't look him in the eye, but he kept coming up blank.

Judy and Jack were up next to be ushered in. Judy took her eyes off the buck at her side for one moment to look at Nick, but he gave her a slight head shake.

 _Nothing yet._

Judy nodded before she and Jack were escorted inside, from where they would scout the audience as discreetly as they could.

The concert hall was impressive, to say the least. The golden seats were lined with ruby satin, curving in rows as long as a football field. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling and cast a warm glow over the guests as they took their seats and murmured to each other softly. On stage, the musicians were beginning to arrive and tune their instruments, filling the auditorium with a wavering hum, cut only by the sharp flick of a flute or low tremble of a bass.

"Are you sure Wilde's prepared for all this?" Jack asked Judy quietly as he helped her into seat.

"Of course I do!" Judy insisted, giving him an indignant look. " _I_ trained him, after all," she added more playfully.

"You're starting to sound like Wilde," Jack teased cooly, "Should I be concerned?"

"Not at all — I think one Nick is more than enough," Judy smiled, hoping the warming of her cheeks wasn't showing through her fur. _Why_ was she blushing? She shouldn't have been blushing. She was on a _mission,_ for heaven's sake! A mission that held the fate of Nick's spy career! She had to stay focused on her task, _not_ the fox that wouldn't leave her thoughts lately…

"Anyway," she continued, shifting in her dress (her _uncomfortable_ dress), "Let's keep an eye out. I know this is supposed to be Nick's mission but we still need to be on guard."

"Quite right," Jack nodded, already starting to scan the crowd inconspicuously. "You know, I'm rather pleased to be working with you, Hopps. Over the past couple weeks I think we've proven to work well together."

"Well, we make a good team," Judy said lightheartedly. It wasn't a lie, they worked well together, and working with a bunny was a lot different than working with a fox. It was a lot more proffesional, at least. Jack didn't constantly joke, like sly foxes. He also didn't ask her what her middle name was, or take selfies with her, or invite her over for movies, or smell like violets near his tail ( _how_ Judy exactly knew that last bit of information was highly classified).

Jack wasn't like Nick at all, but she was starting to feel like that was something she didn't like.

Jack smiled at her, carefully lowering his paw to rest lightly over hers. "Indeed we do."

Judy blushed harder.

* * *

Nick could hear the symphony begin from his post out in the lobby. All the guests were inside and seated, leaving the fox alone to keep watch. He kept going over all his past training with Judy, trying to remember everything that could be useful.

It was nerve-wracking, just standing there, _waiting_ for something that might not even happen.

Nick was almost so preoccupied with deciding what he would do if someone jumped out at him (which would be a kick, a big kick), that he almost didn't notice an audience member sneaking out of the auditorium and back into the lobby. It was a shadowy figure, sleek and quick, and he would have snuck by undetected if not for Nick's careful hearing.

Nick caught the figure out of the corner of his eye, slipping through a door that led to a staircase shaft. The fox frowned. Something was off. Should he follow the guy? Or wait? What if Nick was wrong and in his absence the real perp showed up? The figure could have been nothing, a theater employee, a guest, someone totally lost…

His instincts told him it was anything but nothing.

He considered calling Judy for backup, or at least to ask her what he should do, but decided against it. This was his final test, he had to act for himself. He could handle this.

So, double-checking that his gun was carefully hidden in his vest, Nick pursued the suspect, darting across the lobby and sneaking into the staircase shaft.

His ears picked up on the soft sound of pawpads ascending, higher and higher, and he followed it swiftly and quietly, matching up the cadence of his footsteps with the suspect's, but taking each stair two at a time.

Nick was getting closer now, and could get a better look at who he was pursuing — a weasel dressed in black, carrying a large leather briefcase. The suspect ascended the staircase to the very top, stopping at a dark slate door with a sign that read ' _Lighting Only!'_ Nick ducked into the shadows as the weasel glanced back over his shoulder, opened the door, and slipped inside.

Nick was right on the weasel's tail, no pun intended. He kept one paw on his gun as he opened the door and peeked through. He was greeted by the rushing swell of the symphony's music, and he suddenly realized they were at the entrance to the lighting catwalk — a skinny, metal walkway that ran above the stage. It was a good 30-40 feet above the stage, supported only with thin handrails and metal cords that hung it suspended in the air, teetering shakily above the musicians and audience below.

Good thing Nick was _mostly_ unafraid of heights.

He scanned the scene, and spotted the weasel sneaking across the catwalk, making his way to the middle, directly above centerstage.

Nick slid his gun out of his inner vest pocket and followed the weasel, whose back was turned to him. The fox took one experimental step on the metal surface, reminding himself not to look down because he was _sort of_ afraid of heights (but after nearly falling to his death in the Rainforest District, could he really be blamed?). He forced himself to keep his gaze locked on the weasel, who was just getting ready to open the suitcase when—

"Stop right there," Nick said evenly, holding out a paw and gaining the weasel's attention.

"Who the hell are you?!" The weasel hissed, glancing down at the gun in Nick's paw. "A cop?!"

"ZBI," Nick explained, which seemed to make the weasel even more anxious — he took a couple steps back, narrowed his beady eyes.

"Even better," The smaller mammal sneered, holding up the briefcase and giving it an almost affectionate tap, "You're gonna wanna be here for this."

"Put it down, _now,"_ Nick instructed slowly, holding up his gun, "I don't want to shoot you."

"Is that a _threat,_ fox?" The weasel spat, voice seeping with sarcasm.

Nick didn't reply. He only gripped his weapon tighter, took one step closer.

The weasel's paws fiddled over the briefcase. "Once this thing goes off, we're all gonna blow sky high! There's nothing you can do to stop it, fox! Might as well run while you still can!"

Nick lunged forward for the suitcase, but the weasel was faster. He moved to punch Nick right in the gut, but Nick blocked it in time and went in for a leg sweep. They fought back and forth, fists flying and landing blows left and right. The briefcase clattered as it fell against the metal grate of the catwalk, but that didn't stop them.

As his paws flew, Nick was briefly reminded of his first training sessions with Judy, the way she wouldn't let her size stop her, the way she'd knock him out cold without so much as a second thought.

"Maybe you could go a little easier on me next time, huh, Fluff?" He'd asked from where he lay sprawled on the floor.

Judy gave him a helping paw up. "When you're in a real fight, your attacker won't care," she reminded him. "They won't stop, even after they draw blood. So that's why we've gotta practice. When the real time comes, I have to know you can defend yourself."

Nick wasn't one for letting Judy down.

His attacker swung in a slamming punch into his muzzle, causing Nick's teeth to bite down hard into his tongue and draw blood. His vision was starting to blur, but he kept going, utilizing everything Judy had ever taught him.

The music reached a crescendo as the weasel took a step back and prepared to charge Nick, but Nick darted forward first and finished him off with a final kick to the stomach. A big kick. The smaller mammal went flying back, smacking against the thin railing with a crippling, painful blow.

Nick panted heavily, wiped the blood from his mouth, and prepared to get out his handcuffs, but the weasel pulled himself up, and with a final burst of strength and a wicked grin, whipped out a gun and shot at the cables holding the catwalk.

The bullets echoed through the auditorium as the cables severed and snapped, and before Nick had enough time to even blink, they were falling. The catwalk had split in half, tipping the fox and weasel off and pummeling them towards the stage. The music stopped suddenly, and was replaced by an outcry of shocked gasps and screams.

Nick landed against the top of the grand piano with a hard blow that was _definitely_ going to bruise, if not break something. His ears were ringing and the lights overhead spun rapidly as he vaguely heard the weasel threatening the crowd with his firearm, because of course, he had to make a show of things, that's what bad guys did best.

Nick sat up shakily, realizing he had lost his gun in the fall. No problem, he had his paws for a reason, he just had to —

Then someone pulled the fire alarm, and all hell _really_ broke lose.

The audience and musicians, already startled by the weasel, didn't take another minute to rush up from their seats, all swarming towards the exits in a wild panic.

Nick peeled himself off the piano and stumbled to his feet, world still a bit shaky, and brain still rattling in his skull. But adrenaline was starting to kick in, and any pain he was feeling was being increasingly replaced by sheer determination.

That, or just pure stupidity.

He darted towards the weasel from where he stood at the front of the stage and tackled him, sending the briefcase flying off. He wrestled the smaller predator for his gun, successfully grabbing it from him and shoving it up to the weasel's face. With his other paw, he pinned the weasel down, pressing his muzzle into the polished wood floor of the stage.

"Stop!" Judy interjected, rushing onstage with Jack and a handful of other agents, all with guns drawn. "You're under arrest, weasel!"

The other agents surged forward and helped Nick handcuff him. Nick took a shaky step back, glaring at the weasel as he tried to break free from the backup agents (which, as they were an elephant and tiger, was no easy feat).

Judy kept her eyes on the culprit, turning only for a moment to glance at Nick. "You alright, Wilde?"

He nodded quickly. "Yeah."

"Our agents captured the rest of your team trying to escape," Jack stated, stepping closer to the culprit. "It's _over."_

"Don't be so sure!" The weasel snarked, nodding his head roughly to the briefcase, which had fallen center stage.

Judy kept her gun trained on him as she darted over to the briefcase and knelt before it. Jack and Nick were right behind her, both hesitant as Judy released the latches and opened the case slowly.

"Careful, Hopps," Jack muttered, drawing his gun defensively.

They all held their breath as the case fell open. Inside, a metal cylinder, no more than half a foot in length. Attached to it were wires, _so many wires,_ with all different colors and plugs and fuses bursting out of it. In the center, a timer, which was immediately set off by Judy opening the briefcase lid.

 _3 minutes, 30 seconds._

 _Well, shit._

Jack lifted the bomb out of its case carefully as the weasel started to laugh.

"What is this?!" Judy demanded, turning to look back at him. "A Night Howler explosive?"

 _"No!"_ The weasel scowled, squirming in the grasp of the agents. "You _pigs_ destroyed our lab, our plants, _all_ of our work. We figured we might as well return the favor."

"Tell us how to diffuse it!" Nick barked.

The weasel only laughed maniacally. "Go to hell! All of you!"

"Get him out of here!" Jack ordered. The backup agents nodded and dragged him out, leaving Nick, Judy, and Jack to examine the bomb frantically.

"We've got 3 minutes to diffuse this thing!" Judy said, face calm despite the clear panic in her voice.

Jack turned it over, exposing more of the colorful wires on the rear. "If we sever the wrong wire, we could set it off by mistake," he said nervously.

"I thought we covered this kinda thing in training!?" Nick exclaimed.

 _2 minutes, 30 seconds._

"Yes, but I've never seen one like this before!" Judy said, nose starting to twitch faster. "It's very crudely made - they didn't use traditional materials that we see with most criminals."

"Don't panic!" Jack instructed. "We can figure this out, we just have to analyze the situation and assess—"

 _2 minutes._

Screw it.

Nick yanked the bomb out of Jack's paws and ran like his life depended on it (which, it did). He could hear Judy calling after him, but he didn't stop, jumping down from the stage, racing down the center aisle, through the lobby, and out the front doors to the city street.

Mammals were stampeding out of the concert hall in fear, shouts still panicked and overwhelming. They swarmed and swelled in a giant mass, jostling and nearly knocking Nick over. Cars were speeding out of the parking lot, phones were being used to call the police, and it was all so loud Nick could barely hear himself think.

 _1 minute._

His heart was pounding rapidly as his eyes scanned the perimeter, searching, mind _pleading,_ for something, _anything._

And then he found it.

"NICK!" Judy's voice snapped as she and Jack caught up to him, both panting. "What the HELL are you doing?!"

Nick glanced down at the bomb, the city street, and then back at Judy. "Saving us."

"Nick, stop! There has to be another way, if we just take a closer look—"

"Judy!" Nick exclaimed, cutting her off and placing one paw on her cheek.

The bunny froze and blinked up at him, violet eyes shimmering with what threatened to be tears.

 _30 seconds._

 _"Trust me,"_ Nick said firmly, and then he was gone.

Judy watched as he headed off into the night, swerving through the busy street with its screeching cars and blaring horns, darting straight ahead at high-speed, right towards the boating docks about a quarter-mile away. "NICK! GET BACK HERE!" She exclaimed, but he didn't stop. His white shirt and black vest and red fur blended into the dark and then she couldn't see him and she felt she couldn't breathe. She tried to run after him, but Jack grabbed her and held her back.

"If you go after him Judith, there'll be two lost agents instead of one!" He reminded her, but Judy was only half-listening.

 _"He won't make it in time!"_ Judy cried, trying to break loose of Jack's grip. "He's going to kill himself! He's going to kill himself and—"

Her voice was cut off by a thundering explosion. The bomb detonated in a brilliant fury, one that shook the earth beneath her feet. Fiery orange and blood red hues illuminated the night sky in a giant mushroom cloud, and her ears rang with the sharp aftershocks and blaring car horns.

 _"NICK!"_ Judy wailed, collapsing in Jack's embrace. She broke down sobbing, and if it wasn't for Jack she would have fallen to the ground completely. _"Ni-i-ick…O-Oh my g-god!"_

Jack was in shocked silence as he rubbed Judy's back, doing whatever he could to comfort her. "Judith…I…" But his words fell flat, and Judy's ragged sobs only echoed louder.

The sounds of police sirens and ambulances echoed off in the distance, and Judy knew it was only a matter of time before they went to the scene of the crime…found his body…if there was even one left.

She sobbed harder.

The two rabbits stayed like that for awhile, huddled on the sidewalk, arms wrapped tightly around one another while Judy cried and cried and cried and the sirens grew louder and the smoke billowed higher.

And then —

— footsteps. A slow whistle.

"Whew — that was a big one," Nick remarked as he approached from behind, "someone could have gotten hurt."

Judy froze, eyes wide as she yanked her head away from Jack. _"NICK?!"_

He smiled weakly. "Hey!"

His fur was singed and black in some places, his shirt was ripped, his vest was completely gone, his bow tie was hanging half-off his neck, and he smelt of burnt wood and metal, but none of that stopped Judy from gasping in shock, then throwing her arms around him in the warmest and tightest embrace he'd ever had. She was a bundle of red sequins and gray fur and wet fur, one that flew into his arms and didn't let go. She started crying all over again as she clung to him, and Nick had to tilt his head back because he could feel his eyes getting salty and he definitely wasn't going to start crying because he knew he'd never recover.

"You dumb fox!" She whimpered, burying her muzzle into his tattered shirt. "Y-you stupid, _stupid_ fox! W-why did you do that?"

"Aw, c'mon Carrots," Nick mumbled, lowering his head and burying his nose between her ears. "You said it yourself: all the fun missions have near death experiences and immediate peril."

"Yeah, well, no more fun missions for you," she mumbled, turning her head to listen to his heartbeat.

 _Dumb, emotional bunny._

Jack blinked at Nick in pleasant awe. "However did you survive?" He asked.

"I tossed the bomb into the bay," Nick explained, "It still detonated, and I think a couple boats got scorched, but it made the explosion a lot smaller."

Jack nodded, impressed. "Excellent work, Wilde," he said, and for once, Nick felt nothing underlying the smile the rabbit gave him.

"I'm glad you're okay," Judy murmured, still hanging onto him.

Nick pulled her closer, gave her a squeeze, and breathed in her honeysuckle and sweat and grime and tears. "Me too, Fluff. Me too."

* * *

"Well, while the mission did not go completely to plan, I think it's safe to say that you've performed excellently, Agent Wilde," Bogo said through the screen. They were all back in headquarters now, Nick had been patched up with a several bandages and ice packs, and for the first time in a long time, he felt like he could _breathe_ again. "The weasel cracked under interrogation, and we have agents currently hunting down the last members of the gang. You risked your life for your people, Wilde, which is what working for the ZBI is all about."

Nick smiled hopefully. "Does this mean I passed?"

Bogo sighed and eyed him, but nodded with a small smile. "Yes, while unorthodox, you passed. Your graduation ceremony will be next week, where you will be officially sworn in and given your cover and badge, as well a new mission."

"Yes!" Nick cheered, raising a paw in the air, only to wince and yelp in pain. "Sorry," he added sheepishly, "I'm still a little sore."

Judy smiled gently at Nick as she sat beside him, and Bogo simply shook his head. "Welcome to the agency, Wilde. You've certainly earned it." He turned his attention to Jack, then added, "You're free to leave as well, Savage. It seems that your supervision was effective, and now your work here is done. We'll need you back at headquarters immediately, we have a handful of missions for you to pick from."

"Understood, sir," Jack nodded, seated on Judy's other side.

Bogo signed off, and Nick stood, flexing his muscles as much as he could. "Well, I'm going to go take a couple more painkillers," he stated, looking back and forth between the two rabbits, "I'm still feeling pretty messed up."

"Alright," Judy replied, smiling sweetly at him. "Be careful."

"I dunno, I was thinking of trying to do parkour in the armory, but I guess if I gotta be careful…"

Judy rolled her eyes at him. "Go take your meds, dumb fox."

Nick gave her a cheeky grin and left the conference room, leaving Judy and Jack alone together. The rabbits both stood and started heading to the door at a languid pace, and Judy as Judy reflected on the thought that these would probably be her last moments in this base, she couldn't help but feel like she was going to miss it all.

"I knew everything would turn out okay!" Judy said, almost more to herself than Jack. "I just can't believe it's all over."

"It doesn't have to be," Jack offered, sliding over to stand in front of her.

Judy looked at him, intrigued. "What do you mean?"

"I want you to come on my next assignment with me." Jack said, an excited glint in his eye. "I think you're an incredible agent, an incredible _bunny,_ and we both agreed that we work well together."

Judy's eyes widened slightly, shocked at the offer, but she hesitated. "I don't think I could, Jack."

"But Judith, we would get to travel to exotic locations together, doing what we do best. Fighting crime, saving the day, and exploring something I believe we have together. I promise you, you wouldn't be disappointed."

She frowned slightly. "I think you might be confused. I don't…"

If Judy was to be honest, she had enjoyed Jack's attention. But it never made her feel the same way that Nick's did. She'd never craved to be with someone as much as she did with Nick. She hadn't been so certain before, but as the choice presented itself before her, it was starting to become clear. "I don't feel that way," she said finally, looking him right in the eye.

"Would you at least consider it?"

"I'm sorry, Jack," Judy said firmly, "but no — my life is here."

"This isn't your life!" Jack reminded her, reaching out to hold her paw, "This is just an assignment! A _finished_ assignment. Now that you're done—"

"It's not just an assignment!" Judy insisted, sounding slightly harsh as she pulled their paws apart. Jack looked a little startled at the unexpected movement, and Judy's cheeks turned a soft pink in embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she said softly, "It's just...I can't leave here, not yet."

"Bloody hell," Jack said softly, scanning her up and down. There was a moment of silence, punctuated only by the hum of computer monitors down the hall, and then Jack spoke again. "You like him, don't you?"

Judy's eyes widened as she turned even pinker. "W-what?!"

"Agent Wilde!" Jack said, sounding both amused and shocked, "You've fallen for your asset! Well, ex-asset, rather."

She stammered helplessly. "I don't…I mean, we've worked together for so long and I…well…it's complicated," Judy finally muttered, averting her gaze to the floor.

"Doesn't look complicated to me," Jack said dryly, taking a step back, "you were torn apart when you thought he'd died. I had hoped it was just platonic feelings that you had been harboring all this time, but after tonight…it's clear that you're in love with him."

Judy smiled at that, still unable to look at him. "Possibly."

"My advice? Tell him. You can't be afraid, Hopps, not in this business. We could all be dead tomorrow and no one wants to leave this world with unfinished business."

Judy glanced up at him, his words settling deep within her heart. "Thank you," she murmured, to which Jack nodded.

"Good luck, Hopps," Jack said, giving her paw a polite shake. "No matter how you feel towards me, I still meant what I said. You're an incredible agent, and you should be proud of your work."

Judy gave him one last 'thank you,' before the buck left, leaving Judy to sigh and brush her ears back with her paw.

There was a beat of silence before she finally decided she'd had enough.

"You can come out of hiding," Judy called out with a sigh.

Nick's face and ears burned red, and he smirked.

She was good, alright.

"How did ya' know I was here, Fluff?" Nick asked, sauntering over to her from his hiding spot, also known as against the wall right outside the door.

"Because I'm a spy," Judy answered, eyeing him wryly.

Nick gave a sheepish smile. "Well, you got me. As usual."

Judy gave a light huff of a laugh, and look down at her paws.

There was a painfully awkward silence for a moment after, which Nick cleared up by asking, "So, do you wanna talk about it?"

She threw a glance at him. "It?"

He shrugged. "Ya' know, the whole breaking-up-with-Jack thing."

"It wasn't a break up!" Judy corrected him, "We were never...it wasn't like that."

"He thought so, apparently."

"Well, Jack isn't always right."

"Touché."

Judy hesitated for another moment before she spoke, this time drawing herself up to her full stature. "I want to apologize, Nick," she stated, sounding so formal and at the same time kinda nervous and so adorable Nick couldn't help but smile.

"For what?"

"For turning you down, rejecting you! It was an awful thing to do."

Nick shrugged his shoulders indifferently, even though the memory still hurt deep down. "If you didn't feel the same way, that's fine. No need to apologize."

"But that isn't how I feel!" Judy insisted. She paused and took a step forward, closer to him. "The truth is, I...I like you, Nick. A lot. I might even be falling in love with you, but I didn't want to tell you before because I knew it'd only lead to pain in the end! We're going to get separated now that you've finished your training and I didn't want to put you through that! Not only that, but I was scared!"

He blinked at her, confused. "Scared?"

"Scared of my feelings for you!" She continued, "I've never been in love before and I didn't know what to do and I just thought if I ignored my feelings and focused on work they would go away but they didn't."

Nick gave a slight sigh of relief and smiled lightheartedly. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

Judy smiled and gave a breathy laugh. "I bet."

They were quiet again for a moment as Nick processed everything over. He knew he loved Judy. He knew that he was in love with her. But she did have a sad point — would their relationship be able to handle such long distance? Once Nick was sworn in, he'd probably be sent halfway across the world (which also meant he'd probably have to quit his job at the electronics store, and find some way to explain this all to his mom). They'd both be busy with missions and have barely any time to talk, let alone spend time together.

Did he really want to put himself through the pain of being with Judy for few days, only to lose her all over again?

He wasn't sure.

"So, what happens now?" He asked.

Judy took a deep breath, collected herself. "What happens now is that you get some rest. Your graduation ceremony is next week, you've got to prepare."

Nick studied her closely, drinking in every flicker of emotion that fluttered over her face. "Will you be there?"

Judy met his gaze, looking affronted. "Of course I will! I'm going to be giving your graduation speech!"

He smiled teasingly. "Just checking! I gotta know whether or not I should dress to impress."

"A skill you're clearly trained in," Judy smirked, voice bone-dry with sarcasm.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I've seen your closet, Nick. You own way more Hawaiian shirts than what is normal."

Nick let her have that one, and couldn't hold back the laugh that followed. "I'm going to miss your sarcasm, Fluff," he replied, giving Judy a playful nudge, "and your stalking."

Judy hesitated for a moment, but glanced up at him wryly. "Is that...all you're going to miss?"

Nick thought about making some quip, some lame joke about how not only was she sarcastic, but apparently conceited too, or how for such a small bunny her head was abnormally large.

But he didn't.

"No," he admitted, not looking directly at her. "I think I might just miss you too."

Judy reached out for his paw, their eyes met, and for a moment Nick wasn't worrying about his future or their future or his new life to come. The conference room faded away, leaving just the two of them, facing each other, all the time in the world suspended in their intertwined paws.

And then that moment ended.

"Goodbye, Nick," Judy murmured. She let his paw go and walked to the door, pausing one last time to look back at him.

He wanted to kiss her.

He let her go.


	5. Epilogue

**[A/N]:** This has been quite the ride! And it's come to an end...for now. Just as a note, in this au, I imagine the world still looks the same geographically, and the continents and countries are still the same, they just are filled with animals and animal-pun cities.

* * *

Nick had never worn a tuxedo before. A suit and tie, yes, but a full on tux? Never. Not that he minded, per say. He actually looked pretty good, as he'd admitted to his reflection upon trying it on. Classy, real spy-like. Except for the bowtie. He'd kept loosening and tightening the stupid thing to a level that was just between casual and unkempt.

He was sitting on stage, at the ZBI headquarters' auditorium. It was smaller than the concert hall, but just as grand. Agents were seated before him in the crowd, all dressed in black or gray, and Nick had to keep reminding himself that he was one of them now. He'd even pinched himself once to make sure he wasn't dreaming (he wasn't).

Judy was there, of course, though Nick only got a view of her back as he sat a few feet behind her. They hadn't gotten a chance to talk yet, the first time he'd seen her was when she'd stepped up to a podium to talk about how proud she was of _Agent Wilde,_ and how happy she was to welcome him to the agency, and how he'd accomplished so much in their time together.

Nick would be lying if he said her praise hadn't made him sit up a little straighter, or smirk with a little more genuineness.

After Judy's speech, she exited the stage and Bogo arrived to present Nick with his badge — which, by the way, was an extremely weird experience, now that Bogo was no longer a 4-foot tall bust on a screen and instead a very, very, very large, full-bodied mammal.

Bogo presented Nick with his ZBI badge and leaned down to shake his paw. Cameras flashed from the crowd and applause thundered all around.

The fox and buffalo both smiled for the photos before Nick craned his neck up to look at him in admiration.

And, of course, slight sarcasm.

"Chief!" the fox smiled, shaking the buffalo's hoof enthusiastically. "So great to see you _not_ behind a screen! Who knew you had legs? And has anyone ever told you that you're much taller in person?"

"Shut your mouth and smile for the audience, Wilde," Bogo said through his teeth, "Before I regret giving you that badge."

"C'mon, you know you wouldn't do that, Chief. You'd miss having me around."

Bogo eyed him, but cocked a half-smile, which gave the answer he and Nick already knew. "Welcome to the team, Wilde."

The ceremony ended soon after that, and moments later, Bogo pulled Nick aside backstage to present him with a crisp manilla folder. "Are you ready for your first case, Agent?" He asked.

Nick stood up straighter. "Lay it on me, Chief. Whaddya got planned? Investigating a trafficking ring in the jungles? Protecting a foreign princess from assassins? Or something with zip-lining — I've always wanted to go zip-lining…"

"How about France?" Bogo said with a sigh, dropping the folder into his paws. "The details are in the file, and I think you can handle it. Agent Hopps trained you in French, correct?"

"Yeah…" Nick opened the folder up and skimmed through it. It definitely looked dangerous, but exciting too. Intrigue, mystery, a poisoned official, an unsolved murder — it was a textbook spy-case, something he should have been thrilled for, and yet —

"Do you think you can handle it?" Bogo asked.

Nick shut the file and nodded seriously. "Yeah. I'll leave first thing in the morning."

He turned to leave, but Bogo stopped him by adding, "There's one more thing, Wilde."

He looked back. "Yes?"

"This mission will be hard, as well as all your subsequent missions. If you'd like, you can request a partner."

The fox paused. "A partner?"

"You can request another agent from the agency to work with you," Bogo explained, "we find that our agents often work better in pairs. They would go on this mission with you, and any others that you'd like. They'd have to agree, of course, and be willing to drop their cases to join yours, as well as assume a joint cover, but you'd get to work as a team on each other's cases, potentially making things a little easier. Of course, some agents prefer to work alone, so you may do so, if you like—"

Nick didn't need to hear any more. "ThanksChiefGottaRun!" He exclaimed, gripping the file in his paw and darting off.

 _"Wilde!"_ Bogo snapped, stopping the fox before he left backstage completely.

Nick skidded to a stop and glanced over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

The buffalo glared at him for a moment, and for a second Nick worried that he'd lost his job already, but Bogo sighed and gave him what looked to be the buffalo's equivalent of a smile. "Hopps just left," he said good-naturedly, "If you hurry you might still catch her."

Nick smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, Chief!" He ran out the backstage door and into the crowd of agents still conversing in the seating area. Despite all his training, he wasn't prepared to try to navigate through a crowd of trained agents who were, for the most part, all 4 times his size. But he didn't have time to spare, he had to find Judy before she was gone. He maneuvered slickly and quickly, pausing only to shake paws with the occasional mammal or nod in response to a 'congratulations.'

After what felt like _years,_ he _finally_ made it out of the auditorium and into the hall, which felt so numbingly quiet compared to all the hustle and bustle in the other room. It was a polished-looking corridor with a glossy black tile floor that reflected both the recessed lighting on the ceiling and portraits of accomplished agents on the walls. He looked down both ways, trying to keep his breathing even so he could hear any footsteps, eyes scanning for those adorably long ears…

And then, he spotted her.

She was walking towards the exit at the end of the hall, ears drooping albeit a head held high. Her paw was just resting over the door handle when Nick felt his heart skip a beat and called out, _"Carrots!"_ He ran over to stand behind her, slightly out of breath but not caring because she was _here_ and he still had one final chance.

Her ears perked slightly at his call, and she turned to peek over her shoulder at him with a smile. " _Agent Wilde_ ," she said teasingly, turning in full to scan his tuxedo up and down. "You clean up so nicely, I almost didn't recognize you."

"Same for you, Hopps," Nick replied dryly, slipping his paws into the pockets of his pants, "I didn't know you owned any dresses. Ones you didn't use for a cover, anyway."

"Har, har," Judy smirked with an eyeroll. But despite the sly smile and sarcastic laughter, her eyes shone with a proud glint, a happiness for him.

Nick was seeing her from the front, finally, and he now got to fully admire her dress — simple and black, with an open back that'd had him thoroughly distracted during her speech. Nothing too revealing, but enough to make Nick take a second look. And a third. Though admittedly, Judy probably could have been wearing sweatpants and an old t-shirt and Nick still would have found her adorable.

"Where were you going?" Nick asked, motioning his head to the door.

"Oh, that," Judy answered, slightly sheepishly. "I was going to leave."

He raised an eyebrow. "Without saying goodbye?"

She averted her gaze to the ground. "I wanted to, but…I…I thought it would hurt less for both of us if I just left. Rip the bandage off quickly, and all that…"

His heart nearly melted for her. Seeing her all sad and mopey was going to be the death of him. So, Nick smiled gently at her and moved a finger under her chin to lift her gaze to his. "Well, it's a good thing I stopped you, Carrots, because I have an offer for you."

She eyed him, but her curiosity was given away by the slight perk in her ears. "If it involves trying out the Zootopian nightlife, the answer is 'no.'"

"Fair enough," Nick mused, moving his paw to stroke the underside of his jaw slowly in faux-contemplation. "So, ixnay on Zootopia...how about….France?"

Judy's violet eyes widened, and she gave a slightly disbelieving laugh. "France?"

"Bogo gave me my new mission," he explained, handing over the case file to her, "and it looks like a good one."

Judy took the folder from him and looked through it with a faint smile. "Wow..." she admired, looking up at him as she handed it back, "I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun. It'll be an interesting cover, too — you better know the language well."

"Carrots, please, you taught me all that French remember?"

"Do I remember?" Judy looked up at the ceiling as if in deep thought. "No, I don't think I do. The only thing I remember is you answering 'omelette au fromage' to every question I asked you."

"You thought it was funny."

"I thought you were a dumb fox."

"Omelette au fromage, Carrots."

"Stop!" Judy exclaimed, exclamation bubbling into laughter as she leaned in to punch his arm. "You're so dumb! And not funny!"

"And yet, you're laughing," Nick smirked.

Judy giggled more, cheeks flushed a rosy pink. "I am."

And now, the moment of truth. Nick didn't need to hesitate before asking her, he knew what he wanted, and what he needed. Both things started and ended with her, and he wasn't going to leave before putting his heart on the line one last time.

"I want you to come with me," he said.

"W-what?"

"Bogo said I can bring a partner on this mission. And any others. I can choose, well, ask who I want. And I want you to come, Fluff."

Judy blinked up at him with wide violet eyes. "You mean, go to France with you? Together? With me?"

"Of course, you, Carrots. Who else is going to have my back in a gunfight? Or pose as my girlfriend when I have to investigate a wine-tasting party?"

"Who says you'll have to go a wine-tasting party?"

"It could happen, it's _France._ And I'll need a ridiculously attractive bunny by my side, otherwise it would seem weird that a fox as good-looking as myself would be single. It could blow the whole operation if you're not with me."

Judy smiled wryly at him and blushed a little harder. "You have a point. Kind of."

"Please, Carrots," Nick continued, voice dropping to a more serious note this time, "We make a great team, and we both know how we feel about each other. This doesn't have to be goodbye."

She met his gaze, breath catching in her throat. "Nick, I…I want to, I _really_ do. But do you think we're ready for it? For a _real_ relationship?"

" _Yes._ " Nick insisted, closing the space between them and holding onto her paws. "Trust me, Judy. We finally have a chance to just be together, you and me, no lies or covers or awkward pretending-we-don't-like-each-other-ness. All you have to do is close your eyes and say 'yes'."

She didn't say yes.

Instead, she jumped into his arms, flung her paws around his neck, and kissed him. It was a quick and sudden thing, and Nick barely had time to revel in the sensation before she pulled back again with a breathy gasp, face flushed.

"I'm sorry!" She apologized quickly, still holding onto him, "I don't know what came over me, I just really love you and—"

Nick didn't let her finish, and instead pulled her back in a second time, pressing his muzzle closely against hers and kissing her like he'd never get another chance.

Judy was startled at first, but then Nick tilted his head and their muzzles locked into this sort of perfect fit and she melted into his embrace. He rested his paws on her waist, she snaked hers around his neck, and they clung to each other.

The moment was theirs and theirs alone, as well as every second they spent locked together in the polished hall, the long night that would follow in Nick's apartment, the morning spent bundled in sheets, the first-class flight, the mission in France, the rest of their lives. Throughout it all they'd be together as a team, as lovers, as partners, and as best friends.

But there was no way of knowing that now, no way of seeing what tomorrow would behold. They could lose each other tonight or tomorrow or even next week.

So Nick pulled her closer, told her he loved her too, and drank in every one of her sweet hums, the soft taste of her tongue, the feeling of her fur under his paws, and her heartbeat, fluttering in time with his.


End file.
